Business & Tech

Grosse Pointe Farms Council Approves Liquor License Transfer for BluFin Sushi

The owner says customers have been requesting it since the restaurant opened and he believes it will be a nice addition to the menu.

will have the ability to serve alcohol to its customers in about a month once the official transfer is complete following the city council's unanimous approval Monday. 

Owner Joel Radu said the transfer will take three to four weeks and is hoping to begin serving alcohol to customers on the restaurant's one year anniversary: Sept. 22. 

Radu is purchasing the license from another business in Garden City—a license he had to find within Wayne County, which he said was difficult and expensive.

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The Farms has a certain amount of quota licenses based on population, all of which are currently in use by other businesses. According to the Michigan Liquor License Commission, there are 14 businesses currently licensed in the Farms.

With the addition of BluFin and council's approval last month for another transfer for Morning Glory Coffee on the Hill, the Farms will soon have 16 businesses offering alcohol.

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Radu's quest to find a liquor license comes after nearly a year of requests by customers. He estimates about 70 percent of customers ask for alcoholic beverages with their meals.

He has not yet decided exactly how much liquor the restaurant will offer but there will be some available. The focus will be "saki, wine and anything Japanese," Radu said, such as beers.

The 22-seat restaurant began offering outdoor patio seating this summer, which Radu said has been a success. He receives compliments on the outdoor music, plants and general atmosphere the patio offers. It's definitely something the restaurant will continue to offer in summers to come, he said. 

He's hopeful the offering of alcohol will help make up the front end expense of the license but said he's more concerned about giving customers a good experience. As a resident of the community, he wants to offer a good time to diners, he said. 

The restaurant is planning to have a one-year anniversary celebration Sept. 22, which he's hopeful will be the same day alcohol will begin being offered.


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