Gloucester ZBA Approves Seven Applications, Including Food Truck Permit for Sugar Magnolia's Return

GLOUCESTER -- May 29, 2025, Gloucester's Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-0 on all seven applications before it Thursday, highlighted by a special permit allowing Sugar Magnolia's restaurant to operate a food trailer on its vacant Rogers Street lot while construction of a permanent building remains stalled. Attorney Joel Tavaza of Seaside Legal Solutions, representing principal Missy Sala's MS-9 Rose Realty LLC, told the board that Sala received approval in 2023 to build a three-story mixed-use structure at 18 Rogers Street, the former House of Mitch site, but has not been able to break ground due to complications outside her control; six residents and business owners testified in support and none in opposition. Chair Joseph Parisi obtained a separate board vote authorizing him to sign the decision immediately upon review, bypassing the next scheduled meeting to help Sala clear the 20-day appeal window before the summer season advances. The permit carries an automatic 180-day limit under city code. The board also approved variances and dual special permits for a garage-office conversion at 23 Dale Avenue, two teardown-and-rebuild special permits for properties near Long Beach and in Wingaersheek, a two-space used-vehicle display permit at 95 Maplewood Avenue, and a residential addition at 7 Lighthouse Way, while allowing a garage-variance applicant at 7 Riggs Point Road to withdraw after board members explained he could build without any ZBA relief simply by relocating his proposed structure inside the required setback lines.