To encourage economic growth throughout Michigan, the state has issued new liquor licenses to developing cities. In April, Ann Arbor was awarded 807 new licenses - a 10-fold increase for the city.

But with only 1,200 businesses in downtown Ann Arbor, that means nearly every downtown bookstore, cafe and shop could potentially get a license to sell alcohol.

City officials said they won't be distributing all of the new licenses allotted by the state and will set their own requirements for the new licenses.

The Ann Arbor City Council's liquor committee met with community members last Wednesday to discuss possible criteria for allocating the licenses. The city currently has 73 liquor licenses, and the prospect of hundreds more worries some Ann Arbor residents.

Roger Hewitt, owner of the Zanzibar restaurant and Red Hawk Bar & Grill, both of which have liquor licenses, said he isn't worried about the competition but has other concerns about adding that many new licenses.

"I don't think we have a police force that can enforce potentially a hundred or more new bars," he said.

Councilmember Leigh Greden (D-Ward 3), who serves on the liquor committee, said the committee is holding public meetings to get input from people like Hewitt. The public discussion, he said, would make sure that the system used is fair and rational.

During the meeting, the liquor committee took from residents about how to set additional criteria on top of state requirements to determine which businesses would be eligible for the new licenses.

"There were certainly some ideas expressed about hours of operation, serving food, seating your patrons, things like that, and I think those are all good ideas, but I'm not prepared yet to say which ones I would support and which ones I wouldn't," Greden said.

Businesses can qualify for the "developmental district liquor licenses" more easily than they could for the Class-C licenses currently available in the city, which are allocated based on population.

To qualify for the new license, the state requires a business have 50 or more seats, be open five days a week for at least 10 hours and have invested at least $75,000 into its property in recent years.

The new licenses are far cheaper: Class-C licenses cost at least $75,000 while the new licenses will be only $20,000.

Mary Campbell, owner of the Everyday Cook restaurant in Kerrytown, does not have a liquor license. She said competition for the available licenses and high price has made a Class-C license out of her reach.

"We've been working on trying to get (a Class-C license) for a long time and the ones on the market have gone up dramatically because you have really big players," Campbell said. "They can spend more. They have deep pockets."

These "big players" are national chains willing to pay more for liquor licenses and push the prices above $100,000, she said.

Councilmember Mike Anglin (D-Ward 5), who serves on the liquor committee, said the new licenses are aimed toward making small businesses more profitable.

"I think it's going to be helpful to the small business person who needs a little boost in their business without having so much money," he said.

Campbell agreed that having one of the new licenses would help her business. But for her, the question becomes when they will be made available. Anglin said the committee was trying to move quickly but that there was no timeline for making the licenses available.

"If it looks as though that they're not going to put this through within the next few weeks, then I'm just going start making plans (to close)," she said. "I can't lose any more money."