City Council voted Thursday night to grant a special use permit for two Danville entrepreneurs to operate a restaurant in the former automobile repair and gas station at 1009 Main St., which is adjacent the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History.
Rick Barker and Steve DelGiorno formed Two Crows, a limited liability company, to purchase the property. They will convert the building into an early-day coffee house and late-day wine bar under the name Crema & Vine. Foods served will include artisan salads, sandwiches and soups.
At its meeting of July 11, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that City Council grant a special use permit subject to the condition that the hours of operation open to the public be limited to a maximum of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday.
According to records, the present structure on the site was built as a “service station” in 1969, replacing the existing “service station” that was built in 1927.
The coffee house and wine bar is to have an assortment of seating options including individual tables, community tables and a bar style counter. A fenced, covered seating area is to be installed in front of the garage bays. The southern and western property lines will be screened from view with fencing. The southern property line will also have a landscape buffer. Eighteen parking spaces are to be installed.
The restaurant is expected to open by the end of the year.
In addition to authorizing the permit for the restaurant, City Council voted Thursday night to:
• approve a request by George Lovelace to rezone a parcel of land at 1910 N. Main St. to allow for the operation of an automobile retail establishment.
• deny a request by Pryor Development for a special use permit to operate an indoor commercial recreational facility for gaming at 1344 West Main St., which is the site of the Dan River Shopping Plaza.
• authorize a swap of property at the Riverwalk Trail with Robert Woodall Chevrolet.
• approve a resolution to issue federal Qualified Zone Academy Bonds for the proposed precision machine school project at George Washington High School. These bonds are 0 percent interest.This funding source will be used in lieu of traditional general obligation bonds.
• reappoint Wesson Claiborne-Felder as a member of the Community Improvement Council.
Council's meeting included a business session followed by a work session. In work sessions, Council reviews non-routine matters that will be voted upon in future business meetings. In Tuesday’s work session, discussed a request by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors for added representation on the Danville Utility Commission. Also in the work session, City Council will discuss legislative issues, including designation of U.S. 29 in Danville as I-785 and lottery funding for localities.
River City TV airs live all Council business sessions. The first rebroadcast will be at 8 p.m. Thursday. Watch it on cable (Comcast channel 10 and Gamewood channel 122). The taped broadcast is available now on the City’s YouTube channel -- DanvilleVAGov.
River City TV does not air work sessions, but they are open to the public.
