Richmond’s north business district becomes more social – The Voice

Richmond’s northern business district is now a more social place, with the social district enjoying a more vibrant atmosphere since August. With positive public response and the potential addition of a full licensee, city officials hope to continue the area’s momentum into the winter.

“The city has created a community district to continue the downtown revitalization and expand business and recreational opportunities,” City Manager John Moore said in an email. “We hope the social precinct will help create a lively and vibrant atmosphere in our Northern Business District, which will enhance the events planned in the community. At the last Good Old Days festival, many people posted on social media that they enjoyed the social area, attending events such as toilet races.”

The Richmond Social District officially opened on August 23rd. Moore said the city has seen a positive response from the public and participating licensees during his tenure.

As approved by Richmond City Council on March 4, the social district runs along Main Street from Park Street to Division Road in the North Business District. This includes two municipal parking lots that serve as primary public spaces and several nearby sidewalks. It is within this designated area that individuals 21 years of age or older may pick up a cup of alcohol from a designated licensee and move around.

Three current licensees in Richmond’s social district are Starr Craft Brewery, Commercial House and Maniaci’s Banquet Center.

“Ken’s Country Kitchen is in the process of obtaining an official liquor license from the LCC (Liquor Control Commission),” Moore said. “They are now operating under a conditional license. Once they receive a full license from the LCC, they can apply for a welfare district permit.”

The social district’s operating hours are calculated from the opening of the assigned licensee until 11:00 pm each day. Designated Social District licensees will stop serving Social District drinks at 10:00 p.m. to allow patrons to finish their drinks by the district’s closing time at 11:00 p.m.

“There is no end date for the social district,” Moore said. “The City Council will have the power to change or remove the district if problems arise, but we do not anticipate any problems.”

Some social district rules include:

• Follow state and local laws while staying within designated social area boundaries.

• Patrons may not take drinks served at one location to another bar or restaurant or outdoor seating area. No outside alcohol may be brought into the social area. All alcohol must be purchased from authorized county retailers and placed in a designated county social cup for that business.

• Social District cups cannot be refilled and must be thrown away before leaving the Social District.

At its regular meeting on March 4, the Richmond City Council passed a resolution to create a social district. He also approved a proposal to develop a plan for the maintenance of the social district, which included defining the days, hours of operation and proposed boundaries of the district.

Michigan licensing and regulatory information indicates that the governing body of a local government unit may designate a social district within its jurisdiction. Qualified licensees whose licensed premises are adjacent to the public area of ​​a social district and have been approved and issued with a social district permit may sell alcohol to customers on their licensed premises.

According to LARA, customers can then consume alcohol in public areas of the social area. To be eligible to establish a common area, the common area must have at least two qualified licensees whose licensed premises are adjacent to the common area. Licensees’ physical licensed premises, including approved outdoor service areas, are not considered part of the common area.

In Richmond, the owners of Commercial House and Starr Craft Brewery asked city officials to consider creating a social district.

“We were approached by one of the restaurant bars in the city—in fact, two of them wanted us to look into this issue,” Mayor Tim Ricks said.

The matter was referred to the city’s Economic Development Corporation, which then recommended the idea to the City Council. Portions of three council budget workshops were used by the council to consider legislation for social districts, as well as to consider plans for social districts in other communities. The city’s police chief also considered this issue.

“Once we did our due diligence to find out how many communities in the immediate area already had a social district, we went and spoke to the chief of police. We asked him to talk to other community leaders,” Ricks said.

At a quarterly roundtable in January, the council reviewed draft agreements and resolutions for the maintenance plan, as well as a potential community district map. Following City Council approval on March 4, the Richmond Social District resolution was forwarded to the state LCC.

“After some time and research, we decided it was worth a try. So we reserve the right to remove it if there is an issue with it, but at the moment there has been an increase in the number of visitors here, especially during events,” Ricks said.

Once approval was received, the city opened the case with the county’s three licensees. Those interested were required to have applications approved by the City Council before submitting them to the state. On Oct. 4, Moore said Commercial House, Starr Craft Brewery and Maniaci’s Banquet Center received approval from the city in July, and the LLC received approval in August.

Nicole Tuttle is a freelance reporter for The Voice.