When visiting Michigan cities like Royal Oak or Ann Arbor, Joni Fitzgerald enjoys a little dancing after a good meal.
Now, she’ll be able to do the same in East Lansing.
The East Lansing City Council approved Tuesday requests from Troppo, 213 Ann St., and Spartan Sports Den, 1227 E. Grand River Ave., to place dance floors in the restaurants.
“There’s dance clubs and then there’s places to dance,” said Fitzgerald, while dining at Troppo on Tuesday night. “East Lansing needs more places to dance. There’s always room for more.”
The city council approved requests from Troppo and Spartan Sports Den to build the floors after several conditional amendments and approval from the city’s planning commission.
While the vote to allow Troppo’s passed unanimously through the council, the request from Spartan Sports Den passed 4-1, with councilmember Beverly Baten dissenting.
Both restaurants requested dance floors after it became clear that patrons would be dancing anyway. Without the correct entertainment permit for dancing, the restaurants could lose their liquor licenses.
Although councilmembers were concerned Troppo would no longer fit into the fine dining genre, owner Kris Elliott assured there wouldn’t be any major changes to the business.
“We opened Troppo with the intent of being a fine dining restaurant,” Elliott said. “We’re certainly intending to keep it that way.”
When built, Troppo’s 106-square-foot dance floor will be open for use at 11 p.m., when most of the dining patrons have completed their meals.
“It’s a different market at night,” Councilmember Beverly Baten said. “I’m going to bed, and they’re going out.”
Aside from the new dance floor, Spartan Sports Den also will increase the restaurant capacity from 176 to 208. Owners will provide a DJ or live music on some nights for patrons to dance to.
Schwarze said she was uncomfortable with the ability of customers in the city to wander up to the bar and take several drinks back to a table.
“It makes it very difficult for the bartenders and wait staff to know how much alcohol has been consumed by patrons,” Schwarze said. “I think it’s important we have some semblance in this town of how much and where alcohol is served.”
Councilmember Bill Sharp said he understood Schwarze’s opposition, but said he doesn’t want to run businesses from the council chambers.
“I hate to micro-manage any business in the city,” Sharp said. “And we have a tendency to do that.”
However, Sharp recommends the city evaluate some of the regulations they place on restaurants and bars so that their decisions will be more consistent.
“I think we should take a look at this whole thing,” he said. “It has to be all or none when you put specific rules and regulations on things.”
In other city council business, councilmembers approved March 6 as the public hearing date for an ordinance to regulate signs within the city.
Jamie Gumbrecht can be reached gumbrec1@msu.edu.
