A downtown East Lansing restaurant owner moved one step closer to adding alcohol to his menus Tuesday night after the city council overwhelmingly voted to approve a special-use permit.
The 4-1 decision came a week after the planning commission voted unanimously to recommended the permit.
Harry Saites, owner of the adjoining restaurants Lou & Harry's Five Star Deli and LH Grille Room, received the permit that might allow him to serve alcohol if Michigan's Liquor Control Commission approves Saites' transfer of a purchased license into East Lansing.
The state's approval might take months to go through, Saites' attorney George Brookover said.
"Harry's establishment is going to be a net economic asset to the East Lansing downtown," Brookover said.
The special-use permit was met with opposition from many downtown business owners. A petition with more than 50 signatures from East Lansing residents and employees was presented to the council Tuesday night by Donna Darnell, a manager at Earport, 301 M.A.C. Ave.
"I don't see how the license would add to the diversity and ambiance of the city," Darnell said, citing that almost 4,000 seats were available in downtown restaurants to drink. "A city needs diversity, and this city doesn't seem to have a good focus on that."
Mayor Mark Meadows was the only council member to oppose the permit, expressing fears that after an establishment is granted a liquor license, there is a chance that it could change for the worst.
Meadows said that such was the case with Small Planet, a respected downtown vegetarian restaurant that began relying on alcohol to quell slumping business.
"Towards the end, I'm not even sure they sold food anymore," he said.
Saites' establishment will be the 17th downtown restaurant serving alcohol. The combined total seating for all downtown restaurants is now 3,832, a decrease from 4,154 seats in 1996. The largest establishment is Harper's, which seats nearly 1,000 patrons.
Councilmember Beverly Baten said that granting this special-use permit would help to revitalize the downtown area, which is losing substantial business to Eastwood Towne Center.
"If businesses like this can bring more business into town, then let's get this out on the table," Baten said. "This is the kind of place that I like to bring people when they are in town."
Baten also said that she was amazed by the opposition that was presented, when other special-use permits in past years were relatively uncontested.
"Where were all these signatures when Omi applied for a special-use permit in 2001?" she asked. "From what I've heard, it sounds to me like sour grapes."
Don Jordan can be reached at jordand3@msu.edu.
