Remember that conversation we had a few weeks ago about the Elbow Room, and how Andy Garris, its owner, had indicated that he would be launching a new bar in the Thompson Block? Well, I got copied on an email last night from the developer of the property, Stewart Beal. It seems as though the Depot Town DDA is making it difficult for Garris to acquire a special Michigan Redevelopment Liquor License. It’s hearsay at this point, but word on the street is that Depot Town merchants, and local neighborhood leaders, have issues with Garris because of his association with both the Elbow Room and Ann Arbor’s Studio 4. Garris has said publicly that his proposed, yet to be named, Depot Town business would be different from these other bars, but it would seem that people don’t believe him. I’ve spent the last few hours talking with folks about the situation, and the impression I’m left with is that people genuinely fear that Depot Town, if this new bar were allowed to open, would be the scene of knife fights in the streets, gang activity, public vomiting, anonymous sex on front porches in front of children, you name it.

I don’t know Garris. I may have seen him in the Elbow Room – I don’t know. So, I can’t speak to his character. I can say, however, that I haven’t had any problems since he’s been running things there. I’ve never been beaten up. I’ve never been vomited on. No one has made love to me on the porch of a nearby house.

I can see why some in Depot Town might be apprehensive. Things weren’t always good in that part of Ypsi. The area has by sheer determination turned itself around over the past several decades, and I’m sure there must be fear of backsliding. That’s understandable. At the same time, however, I know from talking with merchants there that the ranks of well-paid automotive workers, who have always been economic backbone of Depot Town, are beginning to thin. And, as these workers take their buy-outs and move south, their dollars are going with them. In the long term, someone needs to bring new, younger blood into to Depot Town.

Another, bigger issue is that if Garris does not get this new license, the Thompson Block redevelopment will stall again, perhaps forever. And I find it hard to believe that a rehabbed building containing a successful business that brings people to the area, is worse for the community than a crumbling and dangerous vacant building. As I understand it, Beal and others have been looking for an anchor tenant for the past year with no luck. I know that some in the area would prefer to see something like Chelsea’s Common Grille move in, but it doesn’t look as though that’s going to happen. And, we don’t have unlimited time to wait. With every passing day, the nearly 150 year old, poorly cared for building buckles a bit more. (It’s just a matter of time before someone is hit by a falling brick.)

So, as I understand it, here’s the deal with the liquor license… Garris wants to open a bar of some kind in the Thompson Block. There are, however, no liquor licenses to be had. Fortunately, the State liquor control board, or whoever the governing body is for such things, has created a special license for just such redevelopment projects. These licenses cost about $20K, as opposed to upward of $80K, which ostensibly would allow the owner to put the difference into the building and/or business. The down side is that the license is tied to that particular location and that one individual. It cannot be sold or transferred. If Garris were to go out of business, he’d be out $20K. He couldn’t sell it, and the bar could not be sold as a bar (unless another liquor license had by then become available). Got it?

Now, as I understand it, it’s up to the City Council to decide what kind of terms go along with the Redevelopment Liquor License. They can, for instance, say that for a business to quality in Ypsi, it needs to have a 1,000 square foot kitchen, a certain number of tables, and serve dinner a certain number of hours. In this way, they can exert some kind of control over the kind of business that’s going to be there. Indications are being given that the Depot Town DDA plans to ask that the bar be set very high, pushing Garris away from the idea of a bar, and toward a restaurant, which I don’t think he has much interest in. It would essentially kill the deal.

The alternative, of course, would be for Garris to find a full-priced, available liquor license and do as he likes. I’m sure that’s a possibility that he’s considering, but, as I said, I’ve asked around a bit and I don’t know that there are any to be had. (I’m not positive about the liquor license that was at Andrews, but the one at the Elbow Room and the one at TC’s are tied to their buildings and cannot be moved.)

You’ve got to gamble on occasion. In this case, there is a chance that things won’t go well. But, as I see it, the alternative – that the historic building will be left to collapse – is worse. So, if I lived in the neighborhood, I’d jump at a chance to have the longtime eyesore cleaned up and occupied by a business owner who, I think by all accounts, has done a pretty good job of managing the Elbow Room. That’s just me though.

[note: Speaking of TC’s, I hear the business is available for $20K and the liquor license for $80K. They’re asking about half a million for the building, but it sounds as though a rental agreement with an option to buy could probably be arranged. So, if there are any people out there in the audience who’ve always dreamed of moving to Ypsi and opening a bar, now might be your chance…. Actually, it just occurred to me that I have a reader in Atlanta who used to work at TC’s. He’s a successful designer now, but you never know – maybe we could lure him back.]