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Council approves conditional use for Highland Room; quota liquor license denied
Summary
Council voted unanimously to approve a conditional-use permit for the Highland Room café at 1760 E. Auburn Road with a condition that alcohol sales be limited to 4 p.m.–10 p.m. daily; the council and Liquor Committee separately recommended denial of a city quota Class C liquor license for the same applicant.
The Rochester Hills City Council approved a conditional-use permit Nov. 10 allowing on-premises alcohol sales at the Highland Room restaurant (1760 East Auburn Road) subject to two conditions, including a restriction that liquor sales begin at 4:00 p.m. and end at 10:00 p.m. daily.
Planning staff described the tenant as approximately 1,260 square feet with seating shown for about 33 people and operation hours generally 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.; alcohol service would be ancillary and is proposed to begin in the late afternoon and evening, with daytime service operating as a conventional café. The applicant’s representative and onsite manager (Hassan) said they are prepared to open as a liquor-free café and to pursue a license later if needed.
Separately, the Liquor License Technical Review Committee reviewed the applicant for one of the city's quota Class C licenses and unanimously recommended denial under the city's quota-scoring matrix. Council moved to forward that denial to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, which will consider the request for a quota license or a transfer-in license under state law.
Votes: conditional-use approval (motion by Councilmember Neubauer, seconded by Councilman Blair) passed unanimously; the council also approved the recommendation to deny the city quota license and transmit that position to the MLCC.
Provenance: conditional-use discussion and vote, plus Liquor Committee report at the Nov. 10 meeting.
