Bloomfield Township Approves New Restaurant at Maple and Lahser

The on Monday went a little out of it's comfort zone in approving plans for a restaurant development at the southeast corner of Maple and Lahser roads.

The new ML Restaurant, the latest offering from Bill Roberts and the Birmingham-based Roberts Restaurant Group, will have an outdoor cafe-style patio for seating. It is not the norm for establishments that seek, and ultimately get, approval for a Class C Liquor License in Bloomfield.

"This will be a new concept for the township," Treasurer Dan Devine said before the board unanimously approved a site plan and zoning variance for the spot at 3607 W. Maple Rd. The variance allows the business to operate their planned hours from 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. M-Th; 11a.m. - midnight Fri. and Sat., and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday. The board will discuss the the liquor license at a later time.

The restaurant will occupy the rest of the former Blockbuster Video store, which is also now part of the Verizon Wireless on the north end of the Bloomfield Commons complex. anchors the other end of the plaza, which also includes and The Honey Tree Grille.

The decision follows the board's on June 25. However, that project also started with a request for outdoor seating that was scrutinized by township officials for safety and traffic control concerns.

"To have seating so close to residential, and so close to people shopping that has nothing to do with eating or drinking. The precedent it sets is something we have to be aware of as a board," Devine explained Monday night.

Roberts, who opened the Roadside B&G on the Township's north end earlier this year, assured the board and residents that while he'll seek a liquor license there will be no outdoor bar or planned live entertainment. He also said an awning — similar to the one used at his Streetside Seafood restaurant in Birmingham — would help alleviate any noise concerns that a current wall and tree buffer couldn't stop.

"I don't think we're going to have an issue with that, frankly," he told the board.

Access to the outdoor area will be allowed only from the restaurant's interior, which has a capacity of 79 seats, documents show. The seasonal outdoor seating adds the potential of 56 more seats. The site plan has 356 parking spaces, including one barrier-free space close to the entrance.

He and architect Roman Bonislawski detailed how the project would include a boxwood hedge that enclosed the seating area from the parking lot, which would technically be just four feet away. They also made alterations suggested by planning commissioners, who approved the project earlier.

"The planning commission evaluated (Devine's) concerns and I'm certainly satisfied with what you've done here with a natural enclosure," Trustee Neal Barnett said. "I think it's a fantastic addition to the township."