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Florissant City Council:
COUNCIL APPROVES A CIGAR BAR IN OLD TOWN
&
DUNKIN DONUTS PLANS NEW STORE
By Carol Arnett
The Florissant City Council held four public hearings at the first meeting of the year on Jan. 8. Mayor Tom Schneider missed the meeting due to flu.
The first hearing was about a request for a special use permit to allow for a cocktail lounge in a Historic Business zoning district for property at 411 rue St. Francois. Marvin Walden and Anthony Bowlson would like to open Smoke & Sip, a cigar and cocktail lounge. Bolson spoke to the council about the business.
The location is a former home. It was previously Moon Beans, a coffee house. The architect for the project said that most changes were cosmetic.
“We plan to be totally involved and engaged in the community,” Bowlson said. He said that he and Walden were prepared to invest heavily in the business.
There will be no food available. No patrons under 21 will be admitted. There will be live music inside, and seating inside and outside. Bowlson said the music would be mostly jazz, but they will play whatever patrons want. The outside will be the smoking area. Bowlson said that the ability to smoke inside would be up to the city.
Councilman Tim Lee urged Bowlson to ask for a zoning change to allow cigar smoking indoors. “It will be nice to sit on the patio in the summer, but not this week,” he said.
Bowlson said they hoped to open in April or May. “We want to make sure everything is perfect before we open,” he said.
Councilman Lee said that he would be moving for three readings on the bill approving the business, explaining that the business had to wait because there was only one December meeting. He noted that the business had unanimous approval of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission. The bill approving the business passed. The council also approved a liquor license for the business.
The second hearing regarded a request by Handyman Hardware to allow for changes to a ground sign including a digital sign for the property at 500 W. Washington. The same company who is providing the sign provided the sign at the other Florissant store on Lindbergh. The new sign will be shorter that the current sign. David Otto from Handyman said the business was updating all the signs on the property.
No one spoke in opposition to the sign, and several council members commended Otto on over 50 years in business and being a good corporate citizen of the city. The council held a first reading on the bill that would approve the sign.
Some Opposition to Site For New Dunkin Donuts
The third hearing was about a request by Dunkin Donuts to rezone property at 8115 N. Lindbergh to allow for the development of a sit-down, carry-out restaurant with drive-up service.
The existing building will be demolished and a new building put up, said Tim Kaufmann, who spoke to the council about the business. The building was once a gas station. Kaufmann said the gas tanks were removed several years ago, but an oil tank from oil changes remains. They will have it removed, he said.
Gene Ray spoke against the restaurant. He lives near the property. “I just don’t think the property is big enough for it,” he said. He asked council members to consider whether they would like to live next to a Dunkin Donuts.
Some councilmen expressed concern about how close the building would be to residences. Councilman Tim Jones said that he would not be supporting the rezoning because the trash enclosure would be too close to nearby residential property.
“Is there any location on this property where you can move the dumpster?” asked Councilman Joe Eagan.
The fourth public hearing was in regards to a request to subdivide property at 15285 New Halls Ferry Rd. This is near the intersection of New Halls Ferry and Patterson Rd. One of the plots would be a Dollar General, one would be an Imo’s Pizza and one would be developed in the future.
In other action, the council:
- Approved a request for a full liquor by the drink license for Smoke & Sip located at 411 rue St. Francois.
- Approved a request for a beer and wine liquor license for Galaxy Nail Bar located at 2092 North Highway 67.
- Passed a bill releasing and vacating a portion of Washington Street. Lee said that this has to do with the Shark Pharmacy building. The city now owns the building as well as a house nearby. This has created a ‘paper street’ that was necessary to get to the different buildings. The city plans to sell the property as one parcel and the street would not be necessary.
