Blind Tiger owner asks council for compensation after week-long closure; council adds agenda item to negotiate parking-lot construction resolution

Brett Parkin, co-owner of the Blind Tiger restaurant on Scenic Highway 98, told the Fairhope City Council on June 9 that the business was given about five days’ notice that it would have to close for roughly a week during nearby construction and asked the council for compensation to cover lost sales and staff tips.

Parkin said the restaurant typically does about $30,000 a week in sales and that the closure will force the discard of fresh inventory and cause long-term customer attrition. "So with that sales, about $30,000, we're operating at 28% food budget... our request was for the $30,000 in lost sales, $4,500 so that we could repay the waiters and waitresses, their lost tips," Parkin said in public comment.

The council subsequently amended the agenda after an executive session to add a resolution (added as item 17) authorizing…