missio

This past Thursday night, there was a city council meeting to determine the fate of all restaurants in Greenville, including the one we meet in, Dr. Unk’s. Here’s the story:

Background

Earlier this year, Dr. Unk’s received a complaint (about food vs. alcohol sales), and they were audited by the city. As it turns out, Dr. Unk’s sales $370,000 in food. That’s a lot of money. But not enough compared to their total sales (the rest comes in alcohol sales). In the city of Greenville, it takes 51% in order to be classified as a restaurant, which presents a problem to Dr. Unk’s because a bar/nightclub cannot exist in their current zoning district. But city law flies in the face of state law (30%) and other similar cities (eg: Chapel Hill, Wilmington). So, Jeremy (the owner of Dr. Unk’s) made an amendment to city law to amend the current law to 30%, compliant with state law. The meeting on Thursday night was to vote on the amendment.

The Meeting

Over 30 people turned out on Dr. Unk’s behalf, including 7 members of our church. We got a mention in the newspaper. I spoke on Dr. Unk’s behalf as well, before the council. The meeting looked to be going to a vote, where it would have been in a 3-3 tie. The mayor would have then voted against the amendment, I think primarily because Dr. Unk’s very openly and avidly supported Chip Little, the current mayor’s recent opponent in a very tight mayoral race. Instead, a substitute amendment was made to gather more information, including why the state law is at 30%, why Greenville law is at 51%, how many restaurants would close if audited, and what other cities do with regard to zoning restaurants. When all was said and done (after 2 hours), the discussion was continued until (at least) August.
The Outlook

I think it looks good for Dr. Unk’s (and therefore, us). Dr. Unk’s has a lot of neighborhood support, including a church .  They also have other options besides this amendment being passed. A special use permit could be enacted, or the area could be rezoned as general commercial, among other less desirable, but effective, methods. There are tons of options, legally. Regardless, Jeremy informed me that as it turns out [randomly ] he owns the building that Dr. Unk’s is currently in, and that we would probably have a place to meet no matter what happens. Which is great.

Thanks for the prayers!

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 14th, 2008 at 9:07 am and is filed under Church Planting, Culture, Greenville, Harmony Church. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.