Commission okays two bistros to pursue license

By Grace Lovins

Two new Birmingham restaurants were given the green light by the city commission during the Monday, April 21, meeting to pursue the two bistro liquor licenses available.

After Monday’s meeting, there are currently three restaurants given permission by the commission to pursue one of the two available licenses.

The two restaurants—Amalfi Coast and Kemosabe—are both located on N. Old Woodward at the northern end of Birmingham’s downtown.

According to planning director Nick Dupuis, Amalfi Coast will serve Mediterranean-Italian style food, calling it an underrepresented cuisine in the north side of the city. The owners, Marks and Sam Lanfear, explained that the food and atmosphere would combine Italian with Middle Eastern/Mediterranean food with a warm, authentic aesthetic that draws people to the northern part of the downtown.

The preliminary designs displayed to the commission showed the layout is similar to the former The French Lady restaurant which used to occupy the space. They are planning to have about 28 seats total with an outdoor dining deck in the rear of the building, facing the river to the east.

Commissioners cautioned the Lanfears about proposing a deck in that location, telling them to be mindful of sound and lighting for the platform because “there will no doubt be opposition to that,” per mayor Therese Longe.

The second restaurant vying for one of the city’s bistro licenses is Kemosabe, set to inhabit the location of Cafe Succo at the northern end of downtown Birmingham. Owner Robert Esshaki and developer Brian Najor said the restaurant will be a French bistro style restaurant modeled after the well-known Au Cheval restaurant in Chicago.

Dupuis explained the restaurant is looking to have 54 indoor seats and 16 outdoor seats with both a ground floor outdoor dining area and rooftop dining area on the second story of the building. They would build an addition out into the patio space to accommodate the rooftop dining.

Commissioners voted 7-0 to allow both restaurants to move forward to the planning board level to pursue a bistro license. The city allows two new bistros and two restaurants to transition into bistros per cycle, which starts every October, per Dupuis.

There are currently three restaurants given permission to pursue a bistro license: Amalfi Coast, Kemosabe and Marrow, which has not yet submitted any plans to the planning board for review.