Ahmo's Gyros & Deli will open a new location in Ypsilanti at 1425 Washtenaw Ave.
Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com
Ahmo's Gyros & Deli will soon open in the former Pinter's Flowerland building on Washtenaw Avenue in Ypsilanti, a city official confirmed.
The Ypsilanti Planning Commission unanimously approved Mohamad Issa's site plan with conditions Wednesday night, allowing him to move forward with opening the business.
"He did confirm it will be an Ahmo's," said Assistant City Planner Bonnie Wessler.
Issa would like to make the location a 50-seat restaurant.
Issa, co-founder of Global Educational Excellence that oversees some charter schools in Washtenaw County, also co-founded the Ahmo's chain, which now includes three restaurants in Ann Arbor and one in Adrian.
Issa could not be reached for comment.
The 2,780-square-foot building at 1425 Washtenaw Ave. is on the southeast corner of Washtenaw Avenue and Owendale Street, and sits on about .34 acres of land.
The building's assessed value is $90,300, making its market value $180,600. Robert Pinter purchased the building in 1991 for $217,000 from Gary Miano.
Wessler said the planning commission typically doesn't approve a site plan that has so many recommendations to consider, but the commission is confident the conditions can be worked out.
The commission wants Issa to add bicycle parking, remove the curb cut on Owendale and replace it with a barrier curb and include more landscaping as part of the project, as well as other engineering changes.
"If there's something we can't work out together, we can go back to the planning commission," Wessler said.
Wessler said Issa will go before the zoning board of appeals on March 27, when it will consider his request for an outdoor cafe. Issa needs permission from the board to operate the cafe within less than the required 50-foot distance of a residential district.
Katrease Stafford covers Ypsilanti for AnnArbor.com.Reach her at katreasestafford@annarbor.com or 734-623-2548 and follow her on twitter.