Downtown Three Rivers establishment Useless Creatures Brewing Co. (41 N. Main St.) is seeking approval from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to provide outdoor seating on the sidewalk in front of their location. Three Rivers commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to contribute a letter of support for the brewery’s MDOT application.
Commissioner Chris Abel led discussions regarding the restaurant’s request by asking, “I don’t know the process of this — why do we have to have an application to MDOT for them to be able to do it on the sidewalk? Does MDOT own the sidewalk?”
Useless Creatures co-owner Colin Monroe explained, “MDOT controls the right-of-way because of the business highway status.” Monroe said he ran into a similar scenario with the state when helping build outdoor seating for fellow Three Rivers restaurant Riviera Theatre, though he acknowledged that specific situation involved him building a fence around the perimeter of the seating area. “I don’t know that we need permission from MDOT this time, but I wanted to at least get permission from the commission.”
At-Large Commissioner Lucas Allen asked Monroe, “How did this come about? What’s the process so that we can know how you’re doing it and what we can do to make it better for everybody else?” Monroe said he believed any individual business would need to come up with their own plan and diagram and submit the plan to the appropriate bodies. “When we did it at the (Riviera) Theatre we also had to get permission from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC),” he said. “I believe the way we’re doing it for the brewery — because we won’t be serving alcohol outside, it will just be part of the social district — we don’t need to go through the MLCC this time, but we do need to do the rest of the process.” Monroe added that MDOT requires permission from the city because the city owns the sidewalk, but they have to give permission because it’s in their right-of-way.
Commissioner Pat Dane asked Monroe why he built a fence for the outdoor seating area for Riviera Theatre, but won’t be building one for the brewery. “I’m not sure that we had to,” he said. “It’s just the plan we came up with. The way I interpreted the (MLCC) rules I thought it had to be contained in some way, but again, I think with the brewery being part of the social district it doesn’t have to be contained.” Monroe explained the brewery would not be serving alcohol outside; customers must come inside to order it and take it out themselves in a special social district marked cup. City Manager Joe Bippus added the social district did not exist back when Monroe was building the outdoor seating for the theatre.
The commission voted unanimously to attach the following letter of support to Useless Creatures Brewing Co.’s application to MDOT:
Dear Mr. Monroe,
The City Commission has voted in favor of your business utilizing a portion of the sidewalk in front of your store for outdoor seating. The diagram you provided leaves amble room for pedestrians to still utilize the sidewalk. Your plan will provide another option for patrons to experience downtown Three Rivers while utilizing the social district.
Sincerely,
Joseph Bippus
Beca Welty is a staff writer and columnist for Watershed Voice.
