SILLY RUMORS were debunked and more serious issues like homelessness and Airbnb's were discussed, as a proposed restaurant/bar in Starland received approval from the Metropolitan Planning Commission.
The former residential structure at 10 E. 41st Street will be a full-service Cuban-style place, if owner/operator Dana Collins gets her wish.
Previously, Collins had run the successful takeout spot Cuban Window, on Abercorn Street closer to downtown.
“We had a successfully carryout, but not having the ability for inside dining limited our audience prior,” she told MPC commissioners last week. “We don’t want to do just carryout.”
Despite the presence of a large number of drinking establishments already in and around Starland, there had been some pushback against another Special Use Permit for a liquor license being granted in that area.
Collins addressed these concerns directly:
“My goal is to open a restaurant. I want to make very clear it’s not a bar,” she said.
“We want to expand the permit to include alcohol, not because we want to be bar-focused. The first 6 months of any restaurant are critical to its success… We’d like to be able to do our full concept at the beginning,” Collins said.
Bizarrely, because the name of her former restaurant was Cuban Window, and it was known that Collins applied for a liquor license, she says rumors have run amok that she now wants to serve alcoholic beverages… from an open window.
“There were concerns that we were going to serve frozen daiquiris from a takeout window,” she laughed. “That’s as far away from our concept as you can get… There will be no window for alcohol service.”
A more serious conversation ensued about the changing character of the Starland area, which is not only rapidly gentrifying in terms of food and beverage hotspots, but whose residential character has been hollowed out by Airbnbs.
Collins addressed this in no uncertain terms:
“I’ve talked to many neighbors on our block. There’s only one person that lives permanently on our street,” she said. “It’s primarily Airbnb's.”
Collins says because there are virtually no permanent residents in that part of Starland, vagrancy and homeless issues tend to predominate.
“The challenge with this part of the street is there is a big homeless issue in the alley. We’ve cleaned up crack pipes, removed buckets of human waste. I had to disarm a man with a knife,” Collins told the MPC.
That single permanent resident Collins referred to, Andrew Mound, lives right next door to her proposed restaurant. He also spoke to MPC commissioners directly, in full support of her proposal.
“The reason I met her is because there was so much going on on our property just after it was purchased. There was a homeless camp of about 9 people in our backyard. They were storing shopping carts in a gated area of the backyard,” Mound said.
“It was a scary time to live next door to this property. They came in and helped. They’ve been watching the property. This is something that will help. This will make me safer because they will be there,” Mound said.
“Nobody’s watching the area except for me, and except for them.”
Andrew said underneath Starland’s picturesque beauty is a less charming reality.
“Our street looks like something from a theme park, but it’s not a real residential street. Not one house on that street has a single family living there. It’s all Airbnb’s,” he said.
“There’s an architect at the end. The people across the street moved out. The family two doors down just moved out because it’s a dangerous area,” he said.
“This is an area that’s filled with restaurant and bars. That’s what we’re about. It’s a fun area and it’s a little bit dangerous. And this will make it less dangerous.”
Collins echoed that, saying “I feel like our presence there [being open] from 11 am to 9 pm or 10 pm will greatly improve that kind of problem that exists right now on 41st Street.”
MPC commissioners seemed to agree, and approved the Special Permit application. It heads to Savannah City Council next.