Three new restaurants may be coming into Bemidji city limits.
The three restaurants have all requested on-sale liquor licenses, which are scheduled to be considered by the Bemidji City Council during its regular meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. The requests are included in the council's "consent agenda," which means action may be taken with little or no discussion.
The proposed restaurants include:
- Toasty Beavers, to be located at 114 Third St. N.W. (in the former Moose Club). The application was submitted by Angela Larson of Bemidji.
- El Mariachi, to be located at 801 Washington Ave. S. (the former location of Bluewater Bait). The application was submitted by Davi Inc., which also operates the Mi Rancho restaurant on Anne Street Northwest.
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- Whisky Depot, to be located at 128 First St. W. (the former Union Station building).
The Whisky Depot request could be the most complicated of the three.
According to council documents:
Tavern Management Group Inc. plans to lease the former Union Station building to open Whisky Depot and has requested that the liquor license for Villella's Bada Bing be transferred to the new restaurant.
Tavern Management Group has indicated an intention to purchase the building in the near future.
If the transfer is approved, which could happen early in the meeting, another agenda item scheduled for later in the meeting would likely be canceled.
The council last month scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday for a temporary suspension of the liquor license for Bada Bing. The suspension was requested by Bemidji Police Chief Gerald Johnson after officers responded at 2 a.m. Jan. 3 to the establishment and found people consuming alcohol after hours, according to police reports.
