By Emily Ford
eford@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — City Council members will hear three requests for special use permits from downtown businesses when they meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall, 217 S. Main St.
The Salisbury Planning Board, which heard the requests last month, recommended City Council approve the requests.
Stelia, a downtown restaurant and bar at 118 N. Main St. that closed in November, will request a special use permit from the city to reopen as a private club.
New owner Louie Mourouzidis, who owns DJ’s Restaurant in Salisbury, and new manager Josh Wainright said the kitchen requires a major renovation. Rather than lose the clientele Stelia had built up over four years with a lengthy closure, they want to reopen quickly as a tavern and then re-establish the restaurant, Wainright said.
After they complete kitchen work, they will close the club briefly and then open under a new name as a full-service restaurant and bar, Wainright said. Stelia is in the Washington Building, owned by Mike Miller of Miller Davis.
A Little Sumthin’ Sumthin’, 117 W. Innes St., is a boutique that would offer beer and wine for sale during live jazz and poetry readings if approved, owner Debbie Evans said.
“Great wines and live jazz are pretty much standard for such a setting,” she told the Planning Board.
Evans said she would partner with local wineries and cater to a mature crowd, age 35 and older.
Co-owners Karen Littleton and Dick Palmore will request an amendment to a previous special use permit for their country music nightclub under construction at 125-127 E. Innes St., Nashville Nights.
Also on Tuesday’s agenda, City Council will:
• Receive highlights and goals presentations from the Community Appearance Commission, Greenway Committee, Historic Preservation Commission and Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.
• Consider an ordinance regarding parking in the 100 block of West Council Street.
• Hear the interim city manager’s comments.
Contact reporter Emily Ford at 704-797-4264.

Events to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church will host the annual Humanitarian Awards at 3 p.m. Jan. 15 at 1920 Shirley Ave.
• The Salisbury-Rowan Human Relations Council will host the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Jan. 16 at the J. F. Hurley YMCA. Tickets are $8 each. Call 704-638-2168 or 704-638-5217. 
• Following the breakfast, a procession will travel to the Freedman’s Cemetery located at the corner of Liberty and north Church streets for a ceremony at 10 a.m., led by Soldiers Memorial AME Zion Church. 
• The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade will be held at 11 a.m. Jan. 16, beginning at the Freedman’s Cemetery, 220 N. Church St., and ending at the Salisbury Civic Center, 315 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., where activities will be held from noon until 4:30 p.m.