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Mare ownership changes; now named Sprazzo

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By Mark H. Stowers


Mare Mediterranean will be changing hands and will reopen with more eating options as Sprazzo after the Birmingham City Commission unanimously approved the ownership change and Class C liquor license transfer at their Monday, July 8 meeting from The Hospitality Birmingham LLC, owners of Mare Mediterranean at 115 S. Willits, to Birmingham Omni Hospitality LLC to create Sprazzo.


Cousins Yousif Kakos and Paulina Faranso will be equal partners of Birmingham Omni Hospitality, LLC. Sprazzo's proposed hours of operation will be from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Sunday. The business and assets will be purchased for $1.3 million and there are plans to spend another $100,000 in renovations.


The purchase of the liquor license will be funded solely by Yousif Kakos through his consulting business, Pure Consulting, and personal accounts. A background check was conducted by the city on Yousif Kakos and Paulina Faranso using the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN), the Court’s Law Enforcement Management Information System (CLEMIS), and no negative information was uncovered. Verification of available funds was confirmed with monies in two accounts with Huntington Bank. One was Pure Consulting and the remainder was in Yousif Kakos's account he shares with his wife Leah. The city has not received any financial statements from partner Paulina Faranso, therefore she is not contributing any financial funding toward the $1.3 million.


Yousif Kakos also has ownership in Bree Enterprises INC. doing business as Bachelor 1 Tavern. The application for the liquor license with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) is pending at the time of this report.


“We are keeping the same menu but are adding breakfast and lunch. We are staying open later,” Kakos explained. “We’re not going to have dancing. That is part of the liquor license application. We just want the restaurant to be visible. People can’t see inside.”


Sprazzo’s lawyer Joseph A. Shallal explained the dance dilemma to the commissioners. “When we apply for a conditional license from the liquor control commission, we have to apply for the exactly the licenses they have. Once we get approved and get the license, we can drop that. It’s an additional $200 a year cost that we don’t need. It says dance and entertainment, that’s just for liquor control. We’re not proposing either. No DJ,;no dancing.”


The city’s SLUP (strategic land use permit) does not allow dancing and entertainment. A wine rack will be removed to allow more visibility both in and out of the restaurant.


Faranso will handle the business’ social media, marketing and advertising.


“We’ve always talked about opening a restaurant together,” Faranso said. “With our connections combined, we thought we could run a successful restaurant.”


Questions from commission members included entertainment and hours of operation.


There will be no live music and no dance floor. There will be pre-recorded music broadcast via radio. The restaurant will first open for lunch at 11 a.m. with breakfast being added later starting at 7 a.m. The restaurant will close normally at midnight with Friday and Saturday night hours extended until 2 a.m. Accordion doors will be added to open the restaurant for more lighting.


“At first we’ll open up lunch around 11 a.m. and breakfast will be a little further down the road and we’ll open up at 7 a.m. There are lot of people on that side of town that don’t really have a breakfast place to go to. As long as you have good food and good pricing and get customers in and out, I think we can do it,” Faranso said.


The resolution to approve was unanimous. The resolution includes the approval to authorize the city clerk to complete the local approval notice at the request of Birmingham Omni Hospitality, LLC and to approve the request for a transfer of ownership of the Class C liquor license, with Sunday sales, outdoor service area, dance and entertainment permit from The Hospitality Birmingham, LLC located at 115 Willits to Birmingham Omni Hospitality, LLC that will be located at the same address.


The parties will set a closing date for the sale once all of the city departments have signed off on the agreement.

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