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Council grants special-use permit for Henry Street Bistro with neighborhood hours condition
Summary
The council approved a special-use permit allowing accessory alcohol sales at Henry Street Bistro (1308 Montgomery St.) with a nontransferable permit and operating-hour limits the neighborhood and petitioner had previously agreed.
Savannah City Council approved a special-use permit on Jan. 9 allowing accessory alcohol sales for the Henry Street Bistro at 1308 Montgomery Street, subject to conditions negotiated previously with neighborhood representatives and property owners.
The restaurant operator sought authorization to serve alcohol in association with a roughly 165-seat restaurant located near Montgomery and West Henry. MPC staff described the request as consistent with the site’s TC‑1 zoning and the city’s traditional commercial future land use designation. The MPC recommended that any special-use permit be nontransferable; council discussion added a neighborhood-driven hours limit based on a prior agreement.
Victorian Neighborhood Association president Nancy Maya told council the association supports accessory alcohol sales only if the permit remains subject to the earlier agreed-upon hours: Monday–Thursday close of business at 10 p.m., Friday–Saturday close at midnight. A property-owner representative raised concerns about tenant impacts and asked that the same hours be applied to protect nearby residents. The petitioner’s attorney and the proprietor said they were willing to work with the neighborhood but asked the council not to impose hours stricter than other nearby businesses.
Council considered a motion to approve the permit without the neighborhood hour conditions; that motion failed. Council then approved the special‑use permit with the neighborhood conditions and the nontransferable-permit condition. The final vote was recorded as passing on the council floor (vote tally not specified in the transcript summary), and council instructed the petitioner and neighbors to continue working together under the Good Neighbor agreement that had been drafted previously.
The special-use permit will be enforced by the city’s licensing staff; future violations of the conditions can result in enforcement actions consistent with city code.
