Rochester Hills Legistar System

The Representatives informed the Committee of the following:

* Carrabba's does not intend to purchase a transfer license because they have

competing sites all over the country. The quota license may be enough to influence

their decision on whether to locate in Rochester Hills or somewhere else.

* Mr. Edwards located a license for $80,000 because he wanted to be prepared in case

Carrabba's decided to purchase one. However, Carrabba's did not ask him to locate

one, nor do they know that he found one to purchase. The $80,000 cost of a liquor

license is approximately 6% of the construction cost of the restaurant. Outback

Restaurants can only transfer their licenses within Oakland Country. At this time, they

have no restaurants closing in Oakland County.

* Mr. Aragona conveyed that he has invested $20 million dollars that included removing

an old, decrepit building, major road intersection improvements and a unique shopping

center. His investment involved no public dollars. His commitment with Carrabba's is

based on obtaining a liquor license from quota. He stressed that Rochester Hills is a

very expensive community in which to do business because the permit fees are high

and the process is long and tedious. He asked that in the normal course of developing a

unique development like City Walk, that he be treated in the same fashion as Tom's

Oyster Bar and the Papa Joe's development on the adjacent corner. He also stated that

Mr. Staran, the City's Attorney, indicated that while he could not guarantee a license

from quota would be granted, Mr. Staran felt that it should not be an issue of obtaining a

license when the development was ready.

The Committee responded with the following comments:

* Mr. Verschueren suggested that all voting members of the AIS Committee should be

present to make a recommendation to Council, not three that happened to be present at

this meeting. He is not in favor of a big corporation obtaining a new license from the

City's quota because there are only three (3) remaining. Carrabba's should have the

financial resources to be able to purchase one.

* Ms. Holder stated that her stance has been to encourage businesses to seek a

transfer license first, but after much thought about Mr. Aragona's investment in the

community, she would be in favor of recommending an approval to Council. However,

she does not like Carrabba's decision of not wanting to purchasing one.

* Mr. Rosen commented that Carrabba's is a substantial company with sufficient

resources to adequately anticipate and plan for opening stores. They have sufficient

financial resources to implement those decisions. If this restaurant hinges on whether

they get a license from quota, they are making a poor decision. Mr. Aragona took a very

big risk in committing to Carrabba's that a liquor license would be obtained from the

City's quota because he has no authority to make such a commitment. If $70,000 or

$80,000 makes the difference whether this restaurant is developed or not, it is doomed

to financial failure and he does not think the request should be approved. Mr. Rosen

conveyed his appreciation for the comments from Mr. Edwards and Mr. Aragona but he

can not second a motion recommending an approval.

Chairperson Holder moved to recommend approval of the request for a license from

quota. The MOTION FAILED for a lack of support. The consensus of the Committee

and Carrabba's Representatives was to continue the discussion at the July 11th AIS

Meeting and encourage all voting members to attend.