The Whitefish City Council on Dec. 4 approved a request by the Firebrand Hotel to operate with a full liquor license and expand to a full-service bar.
The establishment at the corner of Spokane Avenue and Second Street received a conditional use permit after council voted 5-0 in favor of the request, with Jen Frandsen recusing herself due to a working relationship with the hotel.
The Firebrand was granted a conditional use permit in 2015 to operate at its location. It currently includes a restaurant and lounge with a beer and wine licenses, but would like to operate with an all-beverage license in its restaurant and lounge.
The Planning Office recommended approval of the permit with four conditions, including that no bar can be located on the hotel’s rooftop patio, an ongoing concern for neighboring residents.
Whitefish City Council last year approved the operation of a rooftop hot tub at the downtown hotel as an amendment to the hotel’s conditional use permit. The approval came after objections from neighbors who said the change would increase the noise coming from the hotel creating a disturbance to the residential area east of the building.