Two Brothers Coffee Looks to Expand Business with Liquor License

Customers in downtown Brighton may soon be able to order an alcoholic beverage from a local coffee shop. 

City Council members unanimously approved a resolution for Two Brothers Coffee to receive a Redevelopment Liquor License during a meeting Thursday night. 

Jim Starnes, owner of Two Brothers Coffee, said he wants the liquor license to be able to expand his business and offer more to customers. 

"The people down here want choices," he said. "Some of these other restaurants like The Pound are great for people to meet, but my customers prefer to have a place they can actually sit down and talk to each other without yelling. It's just a different venue. Just offering something different downtown. Customers have asked for it."

Starnes said he intends to upgrade the interior seating area, build a covered outdoor patio with seating at the rear entrance and put in a grill to offer more food choices as well.

The whole process of obtaining a liquor license has been lengthy for Starnes, who had originally requested a redevelopment license in December, but later dropped his application, applying instead for the quota license that was awarded to Scotty Simpson's Fish and Chips earlier this month.

The quota liquor license was new to the city this year due to an increase in population based on the most recent census data. 

A quota liquor license costs only $600 annually and is transferable as opposed to a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) redevelopment liquor license, which costs $20,000 and cannot be transferred.

In order to be eligible for a redevelopment liquor license, a business must be located in a development district, the applicant must have expended at least $75,000 for rehabilitation or restoration of the building or committed the same amount for capital investment and the business must have a seating capacity of not less than 25 people.

It was determined that Two Brothers met all of the requirements for the license. The application will now go before the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) for review.