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Piano bar, cigar shop for Frisco Square
By Jan Bellamy, Staff Writer
B. J. Acuardi and Bill Wilkerson are very happy people as they work toward opening a new piano bar and a cigar shop on Frisco Boulevard across from city hall.
“We are very happy,” Acuardi said, referring to the Frisco City Council’s recent approval of a Special Use Permit on a 3-2 vote at the Sept. 1 meeting.
Council members Bob Allen and David Prince voted nay, while members Bart Crowder, Jeff Cheney and Pat Fallon voted in favor. Councilmember Scott Johnson was absent.
The piano bar development required a Special Use Permit due to the anticipation of 75 percent of sales being alcoholic beverages. Frisco voters previously disapproved such establishments.
A May Local Option election in Denton County and changes in state laws, however, have affected Frisco’s ordinances until and unless the city prevails in a legal move to overturn the May election results.
The public hearing on the SUP drew both opposition and support.
Jim Newman of the Newman Village development spoke against the project. Newman said it was not appropriate to put a bar in the middle Frisco Square, given the wealth of activities, children and families, and library use.
Bill Pittenger objected to the idea of late-night drinking and the potential for drunken driving.
Acuardi and Wilkerson assured council members the piano bar would be a high-end establishment, managed by Acuardi’s experienced son, with a dress code and a midnight closing.
“I’ve no interest in staying up later than midnight,” said Wilkerson, who resides in Richardson. Acuardi lives in Frisco.
Wendell Washington, of Frisco, said Frisco needs options for grownups to be grownups.
“I love my kids,” Washington said, “but when my wife and I are planning date night, I would like a nice, adult place to go.”
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