The Plainfield Board of Zoning Appeals met on Monday, November 19, 2007. In attendance were Mr. Monnett, Mr. Cavanaugh, Ms. Duffer, Mr. Gibbs and Mr. Matrana.
ROLL CALL/DETERMINATION OF QUORUM
Mr. Carlucci administered the Roll Call.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Monnett made a motion to approve the minutes of the Plainfield Board of Zoning Appeals of September 17, 2007 as submitted. Second by Ms. Duffer. Motion carried.
Mr. Cavanaugh abstained from voting on the minutes since he was not present at the above meeting.
OATH OF TESTIMONY
Mr. Daniel administered the Oath of Testimony.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Mr. Matrana reviewed the Guidelines Governing the Conduct of Public Hearings. The first petition tonight for public hearing concerns Akira Japanese Steakhouse, LLC, BZA-07-023.
Ms. Sprague said the Akira Japanese Steakhouse want to put that in at the new Plainfield Village Center. Currently it is mostly vacant. There is the Mattress Gallery and the Sweet Tea out there and they are planning on taking up two suite numbers. The property is surrounded by General Commercial; it is right along U.S. 40. It is basically just the right kind of use for a General Commercial area. We didn't have too many details from the petitioner about what their hours would be or how much alcohol sales that they have but I suspect that they can clear that up for us. So, if you have any questions, the petitioner is here.
Mr. Greg Genrich with Bradford and Riley and the owner, Sophie Chan is present. Basically, this is our second restaurant. In 2000 they opened a restaurant called the Wok and Go, which is on Market between Illinois and Capital. They have operated there for about six and a half years. They closed that and they are opening up a new Japanese Steakhouse similar to a Fujiyama or Benihana. We have eight tables of 10 around the restaurant. The only bar will be a service bar, which is at the back of the restaurant. I would envision probably the liquor sales to be no more than probably 20% at best; probably a lot less than that. It is all for on premise consumption and the hours will be?
Ms. Chan said (inaudible).
Mr. Matrana asked, have you already applied for the State permit to sell alcohol, has it been approved?
Mr. Genrich said it will be at the December hearing. So, the first Monday in December it will be heard by the local board and the State board will be on the third Tuesday of the month. So, it should be approved hopefully by the end of the year. The target opening date is when?
Ms. Chan said it depends on the construction but I think around January. We would like to open soon but we couldn't.
Mr. Matrana asked, is there anyone in the audience who would care to speak on this matter? Being no one coming forward I will close the public portion of this hearing and open it up for discussion or a possible motion.
Mr. Cavanaugh said I believe in the past we have been limiting the bar area to a percentage of the overall floor area. I think that is at 25%, is that correct?
Mr. Genrich said this will be well below 25%. It is only a service bar; there will all be waiters and the servers will bring the drinks to the tables.
Ms. Chan said we sell food more than alcohol because we know how the Japanese restaurants sell alcohol and it's not much.
Mr. Monnett asked, is the petitioner aware that if we approve this, it is strictly just for this steakhouse, it's not transferrable to another owner if you decide to sell it?
Mr. Genrich said right. Any buyer can sell their restaurant but they would have to come back before the board to apply for the same approval.
Mr. Cavanaugh made a motion that the Board of Zoning Appeals approves BZA-07-023 as filed by Akira Japanese Steakhouse, LLC requesting a Special Exception to serve alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption at an Akira Japanese Steakhouse at 160 Plainfield Village Dr., Suites 121 and 125 subject to the following conditions:
1. Limiting this approval to Akira Japanese Steakhouse and the approval shall not be transferable to a subsequent owner/operator of the tenant space.
2. Limited to a service bar only. If conditions change and a bar is established for sit-down service, the petitioner will need to have that approved by the BZA.
3. Pending State Board approval of the alcohol.
Second by Mr. Monnett. Roll call vote called.
Mr. Monnett – yes
Ms. Duffer – yes
Mr. Cavanaugh – yes
Mr. Gibbs – yes
Mr. Matrana – yes
5-ayes, 0-opposed, 0-absent. Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS/NEW BUSINESS
Mr. James presented a digital billboard DVD after the meeting adjourned.
ADJOURNMENT
Ms. Duffer made a motion to adjourn. Second by Mr. Cavanaugh. Motion carried.
