All 24 Plymouth liquor licenses approved

UPDATED

Plymouth’s newest restaurant-bar, Aqua Fine Dining, will open within the next week said owner-operator Vitor Nikollbibaj at a special Monday meeting of the Plymouth Liquor License Review Committee to review his plan of operation.

Nikollbibaj’s new venture will not increase the City of Plymouth’s 24 current liquor license holders as he already holds a Class C and SDM liquor license under the business name VNB, LLC, approved by the review committee 3 years ago.

For the past ten years Nikolbibaj operated a Coney-Island type restaurant, Grecian Café, at the 615 N. Main Street address. His liquor license was placed in escrow by the state for the last several months pending construction and a complete remodeling of the building.

Aqua Fine Dining will be considered a full-service restaurant and have seating for 100, a year-around outside patio to accommodate 20, and parking for 48 vehicles.

The review committee unanimously approved Nikollbibaj’s operations plan for the new business.

Mar 17, 2014  PLYMOUTH EAGLE.

“Drug are something we simply won’t tolerate.”  Billy Farwell

The recommendations to the State Liquor Control Commission by the City of Plymouth will include all 24 or the current license holders.

Included will be The Penn Grill, which was inadvertently reported last week to have been the site of a drug arrest. The drug arrest cited took place at Fiamma, a restaurant on Main Street, and involved a patron with 16 grams of cocaine and considerable drug paraphernalia who was arrested for drug trafficking. The account was presented at a meeting of the Liquor License Review Committee by Police Chief Al Cox. The Penn Grill was mistakenly reported by The Eagle as the establishment where the arrest took place rather than Fiamma. The Eagle sincerely regrets the error and any confusion it may have caused. The Penn Grill and 336 Main will remain on a quarterly review status by the committee following other reported incidents at those locations.

Penn Grill owner Billy Farwell said he was concerned about the error as is strongly opposed to drugs on a personal and professional level.

“Drugs are something we simply won’t tolerate,” he said.

Following the meeting last week, members of the city commission were unwilling to recommend the renewal of the license at Plymouth Crossing due to a $57,000 arrearage in taxes and water bills. According to City Manager Paul Sincock, all those fees have been paid and Plymouth Crossing is “up to date” and will also be recommended to the state for a renewal of the liquor license.

“They had up to today (Monday) and it is paid,” Sincock said by phone.

In a letter to the review commission, Sincock stated that the “City Administration DOES NOT recommend any increase in the number of liquor licenses for the City.”

“Our police department often has to abandon patrols the (sic) residential areas of the City and limit their activity related to traffic enforcement due to them (sic) responding to alcohol related incidents.”

Sincock also cited the resultant higher costs in the involvement of the fire department in alcohol-related incidents, the significant amount of administrative time and police follow up involved and that “Municipal Services often has to respond to ‘clean up’ after an incident. He also cited “stresses on a limited municipal parking system.”

“The proposed resolution would recommend to the City Commission staying at the current 24 liquor licenses,” Sincock said in his letter to members of the Liquor License Review Committee.

|News Plymouth Michigan

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