NASHUA – A new eatery known as a “breastaurant” is coming to Amherst Street, but not all of the neighbors are enthusiastic about it.

The Nashua Planning Board approved New Hampshire’s first Tilted Kilt restaurant on Thursday. It will be in a long-
empty plaza at 341 and 345 Amherst St., behind the Five Guys plaza.

Also coming to the 22,000-square-foot Green Fall Marketplace are a women’s fitness shop and a veterinary clinic, according to the presentation by Northamptonboys1 LLC, developers from Northampton, Mass., who bought the plaza last year.

The plaza is between the access road to the Cannongate condominiums and Trafalgar Square. Several residents of Cannongate expressed concern at the hearing.

Among worries over noise, traffic and parking issues, several neighbors questioned the nature of the restaurant.

One of the plaza’s neighbors, Donna Daley, of Cannongate, praised the neighborhood, but said the restaurant wouldn’t mesh with the community.

She also said she was particularly concerned about the proposed changes because her young granddaughter visits her at Cannongate.

Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery is a Hooters-esque sports bar based in Tempe, Ariz., that has locations across the U.S. and Canada.

Robert Raymond, one
of the partners of Northamptonboys1, described Tilted Kilt as having “women in rather attractive attire, attracting a solid group of clients.”

The eatery is one of several casual-restaurant chains that emphasize scantily clad female servers in a category informally known as the “breastaurant.”

This includes the largest and oldest such chain, Hooters, which started in 1983; Tilted Kilt, founded in 2005; and several regional chains not present in New Hampshire with names such as Twin Peaks, Honey Shack and Bone Daddy’s.

The Planning Board concluded that the restaurant was an appropriate use for the building space, and that its hours of operation are within state liquor laws and city ordinances.

The board added several stipulations to the approval, such as refurbishing the landscaping, repainting parking lot lines, providing sufficient lighting behind the building and enclosing dumpsters on-site.

The Green Fall Marketplace and the adjoining Red Fall Marketplace opened in 2008, just as the recession hit, and stood empty for several years. Red Falls, which includes the Five Guys eatery, is now fully occupied.

Subdividing approved

In other business, the Planning Board approved subdividing a half-acre lot at 92 Robinson Road near Rivier University into three parcels to include two new building sites, as well as the existing house.

Several neighbors opposed the subdivision because they felt the change would crowd the neighborhood with additional drivers and noise and diminish the character of the neighborhood.

The board ultimately voted to allow the subdivision with several stipulations, including the request for a contribution of $11,250 toward the city sidewalk fund.