On Tuesday, February 21, after lengthy discussion, the Fenton Township Board of Trustees voted 4-2 to approve a tavern license with Sunday sales to Tri-County Ninja & Collectibles.
Trustees Robert Kesler, Mark Goupil, Christine Reid and Kade Katrak voted yes. Supervisor Vince Lorraine and clerk Robert Krug voted against. Treasurer John Tucker was absent.
Multiple city officials favored preserving the city’s liquor quota for businesses on the Thompson Road Corridor.
Ed McNulty, owner of Tri-County Ninja & Collectibles at 14283 Fenton Road, said they offer ninja warrior training for kids and adults, similar to training on an obstacle course. They do family classes. They also have a collectible store that sells Pokemon cards, board games, trading cards, and more. Tri-County Ninja also offers scholarships to help people pay for lessons. The company also hosts adaptive ninja, which is aimed at people with special needs.
They opened Tri-County Ninja in 2018. McNulty is a recently retired police officer after 16 years working in Oakland County.
McNulty said they provide an alternative mode of physical activity as well as opportunities for play that are no longer found in the area.
“We are the most searched and booked birthday party destination in Genesee County. We bring a lot of people from all sorts of zip codes into the city,” he said.
McNulty said they were able to acquire the 8,000-foot Sear’s Hometown Store space, which is part of the same building. With that space, they plan to add bowling, corn hole, shuffleboard tables, bounce houses, and other rotating games. Plans also include installing a bar and a retro arcade.
McNulty said that while a tavern license will allow beer, wine and mixed drinks, they don’t plan to have full bar service. Their goal with the liquor license is to keep customers drinking while watching their kids play sports and games. McNulty said they would have minimal food that would not require a kitchen. They would encourage customers to bring their own food.
They have an agreement with Shaffer Distribution to install arcade equipment. They could also buy the games through financing. Tri-County Ninja also has agreements with board game distributors.
“We really just want to add something to Fenton without taking away the current businesses,” he said, adding that there is a need for facilities in the area that offer family activities. McNulty said he currently employs eight people and they are “severely” understaffed for what they do. He expects their workforce to double after expansion. They hope to implement these changes by mid-May.
Lorraine said he doesn’t approve of letting parents drink if they’re going to drive their kids. Reid said she enjoys bringing something like this to Fenton
Destination manager Michael Deem said municipalities will be allocated one liquor quota per 1,500 residents. Based on Census figures, the municipality has 11 liquor licenses and nine are now active with this approval. There are two licenses left.
According to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, quota licenses are “a limited set of specific types of licenses allowed based on the population of a local government unit. Once the quota limit for a license type is reached, no new licenses of that type can be issued in that local government unit. However, most quota licenses are transferable by location from one local government unit to another.”
There are three main licenses included in that issue: Hotel License, Tavern License, and Class C License. A tavern license would allow a “restaurant or bar to sell and serve beer, wine and spirits products for consumption on the licensed premises”.
Deem said the council has invested in planning the future land use of the Thompson Road Corridor in recent years. Their goal is to promote economic development in the area.
“Townships are very limited in the economic development tools we have to promote to bring businesses to the township. A liquor license is one of the few tools we have,” said Deem.
“In considering which locations are currently best or most suitable based on the investment in the Thompson Road Corridor, I would find it difficult to recommend approval of this quota license. That has nothing to do with the company itself… If they could get a permit, I think you would consider that a suitable use for that location.’
Having liquor licenses available for hotels or sit-down restaurants in the Thompson Road Corridor is an “important tool for economic development,” Deem added.
Once a permit has been issued, the municipality can no longer exercise control over it. A liquor license can be sold or transferred outside the municipality. If a company landed a liquor license from another municipality, it would not count against the municipality’s quota permits. If one of the nine companies with a Fenton Township quota license were to leave the township, the license would still count against the Township’s quota licenses, Deem said.
There are two liquor licenses operating on the Thompson Road Corridor. One of them counts as a quota license.
The state also has a 500-foot setback requirement from churches and schools. There is a cancellation procedure. However, Tri-County Ninja is less than half a mile from a church across the street.
Lorraine said other councils with corridors, such as Miller Road, which have hotels and other establishments, have retained liquor licenses for these corridors.
“I look long term at what is best for this township and I do believe there will be better use of that permit. It won’t stop him from getting one,” he said.
Goupil spoke out for approval of the liquor license for Tri-County Ninja.
“The thought of punishing someone who lives locally with a local business who wants to do something because of what could possibly happen – we prefer the people who aren’t even here yet to someone who is here trying to live an honest life. And frankly, I’m biased about him because he’s a retired deputy,” said Goupil, who is a retired deputy, adding that they wouldn’t tolerate bad drunk behavior.
“A retired cop will not accept any of this stuff that we see in these other places. As a 21-year-old deputy sheriff, I guarantee you that a licensed hotel is a lot more trouble than a licensed Magic the Gathering place.”
McNulty said if they can’t get a quota license, they can buy one for $50,000 plus filing fees. He said chains are most likely the businesses that will come to the Thompson Road area.
“$50,000 doesn’t even move their needle. What I could do with $50,000 with the charity work we do and the things we do for kids and how many more arcade games or how many more ninja rigs could I put in there? I could do anything with $50,000 and I don’t have $50,000 in reserve anywhere,” he said. “I’ve lived in this township, we’ve been here, we’re active in the community. It’s not fair, and I understand that life isn’t fair, but it’s not fair for us to be penalized for holding up a carrot for a company that’s going to pay for it anyway. $50,000 is a lot of money to me.”