Downtown Royal Oak Loses Another Restaurant As Beirut Palace Announces Plan To Relocate After 21 Years In City
Beirut Palace joins ranks of Andiamo, B Spot Burgers and Qdoba as downtown exodus continues amidst parking shortage and city center development
ROYAL OAK, Mich., Oct. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Beirut Palace, a downtown Royal Oak landmark, since 1997, today announced it is leaving Royal Oak and will move its business to a surrounding community, said owner Hussein "Sam" Ahmad.
Ahmad cited several factors for the decision including loss of parking, aggressive vehicle ticketing by the city parking enforcement department and an uncommunicative and uncooperative City Manager, Mayor and City Commission.
"Our sales kept dropping throughout the summer up to 50 percent recently. Whether a guest was here for dine-in or carry-out, they complain that they had to circle many blocks because they couldn't find parking," said Ahmad. "This decision took a great amount of time as my family has made many friends in Royal Oak who contributed to the success of the business and to the good reputation of our name."
Beirut Palace joins others that have left in the decline of what used to be a thriving main street. Andiamo closed its doors in July after 20-years, citing parking as the "nail in the coffin" to its business. B-Spot Burgers (Burgers, Brats, Beers) closed without notice on Aug. 30, and Qdoba closed its Main Street location in September choosing not to renew its lease.
Brugger's Bagels, formerly the top producing store in the state, has turned over its staff in an effort to lower overhead costs as sales have been down 30 percent this year as a result of construction and parking. Finally, Superior Fish on 11-mile downtown closed its doors in June after being a destination for 75 years.
"It's no wonder all these restaurants and businesses are leaving downtown," said Greg Stanalajczo, a spokesman for the Take Back Royal Oak Coalition. "The Mayor and majority of the city commission put one over on Royal Oak taxpayers who are now left footing the bill for a developer and Henry Ford due to their lack of vision."
The Take Back Royal Oak Coalition is a group of taxpayers including residents and businesses that want government transparency and to restore responsible leadership to the City of Royal Oak.
SOURCE Take Back Royal Oak Coalition
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