A members-only bourbon bar is one step closer to opening in Plain City, after officials approved an application that will allow the owner to move forward with acquiring a liquor license.
Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a TREX application for 114 West Main LLC.
The TREX application is an Economic Development Transfer Form that will allow a business to transfer an alcohol permit that was already issued in another city, village or township into a jurisdiction that does not have any openings available for that permit.
The applicant is specifically seeking to receive the transfer of a D-1, D-2 and D-3 alcohol permit. Together, they would allow on-premises consumption of beer, wine and spiritous liquor until 1 a.m.
Management Analyst and Council Clerk Justin Dreier emphasized that approval of the TREX application does not actually grant the alcohol permits, it just allows the business to move forward with the process of transferring them.
Council will later receive formal notice from the Division of Liquor Control regarding the transfer and could then object and request a public hearing, if so desired.
Gretchen Bonasera, who filed the application on behalf of 114 West Main LLC, is requesting an alcohol permit transfer from 80 East Powell LLC.
Bonasera is the owner of 80 East Bourbon and Cocktail Club in Powell, a members-only bar.
80 East offers three tiers for membership, with the lowest costing $350 per month and the highest listed at $1,000 per month. There is a slight discount for the first year if paid in full.
There is a corporate membership also available for $1,000 per month, along with a weekend-only membership that allows those individuals to visit only on Fridays and Saturdays for $150 per month.
According to its website, the Powell location is limited to 200 memberships.
By approving the TREX application, council certified that the business does constitute an economic development project.
Bonasera wrote in the application that $225,000 will be invested in turning the third floor of the McCune Building into another members-only bourbon bar.
She wrote that six to eight jobs will be created by the project.
Rayce Robinson, the owner of the McCune Building, originally proposed creating a Downtown Revitalization District, as it would allow the village to issue additional liquor licenses to interested businesses.
He later withdrew the application, adding that the tenant, Bonasera, intended to transfer an alcohol permit in order to “protect the locally grown aspect of Plain City” as opposed to generating licenses that could be obtained by chain businesses.
Dreier said following the meeting that he believes only one other TREX application has been submitted in the village, when The Grainery at 138 W. Main St. applied to transfer a permit from a business located in Marysville.
However, he said the Division of Liquor Control’s databases do not show the current status of the permit, which makes it unclear if the TREX application for The Grainery “was ever fully processed and completed after the initial stage.”
Finance Director Renee Sonnett clarified that, in the case the alcohol permit is granted and the business later leaves the village, it will not open another available permit but will stay with the owner.