Proposed coffee shop could replace longtime Canton pub
A Canton Ford Road mainstay, The Bowery Pub is on the verge of being replaced by a coffee shop.
Canton’s Bowery Pub, a decades-old restaurant and pub located at 41275 between I-275 and Haggerty Road, is on the verge of being replaced by a Yemeni-themed coffee shop.
During the June 1 Canton Township Planning Commission meeting, planning commissioners voted 8-0 (Commissioner Harpreet Singh was absent due to illness) with three conditions to approve a special land use application by Bayt Al Mocha (House of Mocha), a Michigan-based franchise that has at least seven locations in Michigan.
Mocha is a port city in Yemen known for its coffee trade, according to the brand’s website.
Conditions need to be met
The conditions include the installation of a median separating an entrance and exit onto and off of Ford Road (similar to Raising Cane’s), making it a right turn-in, right turn-out only access point.
Also, the ultimate approval of the pending site plan review will require a satisfactory review of a Ford Road driveway by MDOT and revising the special land use plans to the satisfaction of Canton Municipal Services staff.
Like Cane’s, there is an alternate access road to the south of the property.
Bayt Al Mocha will operate in the eastern half of the proposed building (the current Bowery Pub building will be demolished).
Second tenant yet to be determined
The tenant that will occupy the the west side of the building is undetermined, according to a representative of the architectural firm that designed the building.
Commissioners voiced concerns about traffic during the June 1 public hearing, but were satisfied with the initial plans presented by Bayt Al Mocha.
The proposed building will include an outdoor dining space and a second-story mezzanine/storage area.
Drive-thru, too
Bayt Al Mocha will have a drive-thru designed to handle 12 stacking space, two more than the required spaces.
There are existing Bayt Al Mocha franchises in Dearborn, Dearborn Heights, Madison Heights and Ann Arbor, among others.
A demolition schedule for the existing Bowery building will not be determined until all of the site plans are officially approved.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
