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A woman who co-owns a hookah bar in Detroit wants to open a new restaurant with a bar on Main Street in Royal Oak.

City police have conducted a review of the proposed “Miami” restaurant and its plan of operation, which is necessary to open a business with a liquor license in Royal Oak.

City commissioners will vote on the Miami plan at their regular meeting Monday.

The front of the two-story L-shaped building is at 505 S. Main Street, between the Morrie restaurant and Vibe Credit  Union, with a second front of the building around the corner at 108 E. Fifth Street.

“To have that building renovated and repurposed helps that part of downtown,” said City Manager Paul Brake. “And it provides additional options for evening visitors.”

If approved, the Miami will operate as a full-service restaurant and bar. 

“The menu will feature American fare, including hot and cold appetizers, salads, soups, sandwiches and flatbread pizza,” said Royal Oak police Lt. Karly Renaud, who reviewed the eatery’s operation plans, in a memo to city officials.

Other dishes will include specialty tacos, pasta, fish and lamb chops.

The building’s exterior has new dark brown brick and an entrance along with a glass-paned garage-style door that faces Main Street.

Jazmine Gillette – who owns the Take Out Hookah Cafe, 1400 Gratiot, in Detroit – is the sole owner of the proposed new restaurant.

She will lease the building from Main & Fifth Ventures, LLC, for $31,000 a month, according to Lt. Renaud’s review. Gillete will pay $1 to Main & Fifth Ventures for its liquor license.

The Class C liquor license will always remain with the property and cannot be transferred.

Gillete plans to spend $310,000 for renovations, furniture, equipment and fixtures.

Additionally, she will spend another $40,000 on new inventory, according to Renaud’s report.

Gillette’s business experience, aside from the hookah bar, and has been chiefly in the beauty supply business for the past nine years, police said.

However, her general manager for the restaurant, Steven Yharbrough, has worked in the restaurant industry for about 20 years.

Yharbrough has worked as a cook, and a bar manager, in Arizona and Michigan and currently works at the Olive Garden location in Southgate.

There is 8,895 square feet of space for the restaurant on two floors. Bars are planned for both floors.

The first floor will have seating for 88 customers on the first floor, and 148 on the second floor.

“According to the plans there would also be a rooftop terrace bar covering 900 square feet,” Brake said. “There would be 11 tables with seats for 44 people.”

The terrace bar would be seasonal, opening from April to October, he added.

The police report said that Gillette meets all the city requirements to be approved for the restaurant.

Two brothers — Matthew and Josef Boumaroun — bought the vacant building at 505 S. Main Street back in 2018. They owned the 25 Degrees Burger and Wine Bar in Chicago

They were approved to open a restaurant and bar there, but it is unclear why they never did, Brake said.

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