North Stonington — After almost four years of operating Buon Appetito Ristorante & Pizzeria, owners Petrit and Mirela Marku want to expand its parking lot.

But because the Markus' restaurant sits on one acre leased from the town's 105-acre Hewitt Farm property, they have to go to the Hewitt Farm Committee with the request.

As it stands, there's a small, two-row lot on the Hewitt Road side of the 386 Norwich-Westerly Road restaurant, and a small, one-row lot on the other.

Just past the two-row lot is an even smaller, crushed stone lot — one that forces vehicles to pull directly onto Norwich-Westerly Road, or state Route 2, without a sanctioned entrance or exit.

The set-up, First Selectman Nick Mullane said, is a "hazard" for more than one reason.

First, there is a chance, or even a strong likelihood, that those driving on Route 2 aren't expecting a car to pull out after they've passed each of Buon Appetito's paved lots.

Second, Mullane said, busy weekend nights often lead diners to park in the Holly Green Plaza and then cross Route 2, despite the lack of a crosswalk.

Mullane said the parking lot expansion could occur multiple ways.

One, for example, would be to pave the crushed stone lot, adding curbing as necessary to direct cars to a marked exit.

Another possibility is adding a second row to the one-row lot, but that could force the Markus to encroach upon more of the Hewitt Farm property.

Before any decision is made, members of the Hewitt Farm Committee decided, they want more information.

In a handout given to the Board of Selectmen, the committee asked the town to ask for a written proposal from the Markus detailing several items.

Information the committee is seeking includes, among other things, the restaurant's capacity, a layout plan and an agreement that Buon Appetito will be responsible for fees garnered while seeking town and/or state approval for the spaces.

According to the handout, the committee believes the parking change would warrant a town meeting.

At Tuesday night's Board of Selectmen meeting, Mullane expressed his approval of the additional parking spaces.

"I want to have (Petrit Marku) maximize his business," Mullane said. "Right now I don't think he can because of the parking situation."

l.boyle@theday.com

Twitter: @LindsayABoyle