Politics & Government
Barnes & Noble Safe for Now, Petitioner Withdraws Request for Liquor License Transfer
Public comment at Monday's Royal Oak City Commission meeting offers insight on the future of the Main Street book store.
A request to transfer a Class C license to 500 S. Main Street and convert the Barnes & Noble site into a 270-seat Italian restaurant and night club has been withdrawn.
The petitioner, SV One, LLC., sent a letter via electronic mail to city officials withdrawing the request Monday afternoon. The letter offered no explanation for the withdrawal.
Mayor Jim Ellison announced SV One's decision prior to public comment at Monday night's City Commission meeting.
"This is a withdrawal, not a postponement, or a delay," said Ellison. "This petitioner no longer has a request for transferring a liquor license pending in the city of Royal Oak. Should this petitioner or a new petitioner later wish to submit a new request for this location, they would have to start the process from scratch."
Insights on the future of Barnes & Noble
The future of the Royal Oak Barnes & Noble has been controversial since the story broke last week that the retailer may be losing its Main Street address. Attempts were made during public to offer some insight on the future of the book retailer.
Tom December said he wanted to "squelch the rumors in regards to Barnes & Noble." The downtown Royal Oak resident indicated he has been corresponding with David Deason, vice president of development for Barnes & Noble.
Deason indicated the bookseller is not looking to stop operating in Royal Oak, however, its continuance is at the determination of the property owner, December said.
According to December, Deason stated the following:
- The book store is successful and Barnes & Noble is satisfied with its performance.
- The store has a lease until January 2015, however, there is a clause in the rental agreement that allows the landlord to cancel the agreement with some notice.
- Deason indicated Barnes & Noble plans to continue to do business until January 2015 and beyond.
The building's owner, Tim Blum, also spoke during public comment.
"There seems to be some confusion as to what is going on in respect to Barnes & Noble," Blum said. "It's been rumored that I want to throw them out. If I wanted to do that I probably could have done it about a year and a half ago."
Blum described Barnes & Noble's sales performance as lackluster.
"Despite what Mr. December said, they have not done the sales to justify the rent," Blum said, adding he reduced the rent substantially to give the bookseller a chance to increase its sales volume.
"In fact, we cut (the rent) in half, so yes, I would hope they are making money now, but I am not. I can't keep subsidizing that space forever."
Blum said he would like to keep Barnes & Noble in Royal Oak but he must make plans for the future.
"The reality is the sales just aren't there," Blum said.
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