The Dairy Mart located on Grove Road in Ypsilanti Township.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to note that revocation of the liquor license only applies to one store.

The liquor license of an Ypsilanti Township Dairy Mart where employees sold alcohol to underage patrons on multiple occasions has been suspended for 60 days.

The Michigan Liquor Control Commission recently ordered the suspension of the license of the Dairy Mart at 2375 Grove Road to start on March 18.

The Dairy Mart is owned by Saleh Hamati. He also owns a Dairy Mart at 10131 Textile Road. Hamati said he primarily manages the Textile Road location and previously left management of the Grove Road store, where the sales to minor occurred, to an employee. He said he recently fired all his employees, hired a new manager and spends more time at the Grove Road location, He also said he has taken significant steps to improve both buildings.

The previous manager of the Grove Road store sold alcohol to minors on three different occasions within 24 months, the Liquor Control Commission determined. Three incidents with 24 months is grounds for suspension or revocation of a liquor license per LCC rules. The sales occurred during Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department sting operations in December 2009 and June 2010.

The deputy overseeing the sting testified at a Liquor Control Commission hearing that the Grove Road manager twice tried to bribe him.

The LCC ordered the license suspended for 60 days and is requiring Hamati to install electronic scanners that require employees to swipe customers' driver's licenses or identification cards. If a customer is underage, the equipment will physically lock out the sale of the alcohol. Employees are also ordered to take a course on selling alcohol.

Hamati previously had his license suspended in May for 10 days and was fined $1,850 by the Liquor Control Commission for the December 2009 violations. The Grove Road store was also cited for selling alcohol to a minor in 2005.

Township Attorney Doug Winters said the penalty is harsh by LCC standards, but he would like to see the liquor license at the Grove Road location revoked permanently.

“The punishment has to fit the actions of the crime, and, to some extent, I don’t think the 60 day suspension goes far enough,” he said. “I think they have the worst party store in this area and it takes quite a lot to earn that kind of distinction. They should be dealt with according to what they have caused us at the township to go through.

“The stores have become more of a liability in this township as opposed to being an asset.”

The township has the option to oppose the reinstatement of Hamati’s license following during an annual renewal process to which all establishments selling liquor are subject.

Hamati said the store is a different place than it was last year.

“I have an undercover cop coming in every day, and it is very clean,” he said of the Grove Road store. “When I take over the place from the manager, I removed the adult magazines and turned into a nice family store. Customers are happy to see it.”

The LCC is also ordering Hamati to comply with all township ordinances and bring the building up to code. A township inspection of the two properties found numerous code violations, and attorneys stated in a complaint filed with the Washtenaw County Circuit Court that the buildings constitute a public nuisance and threat to public health. The township wants the court to order Hamati to address the code violations and improve security at the stores.

A hearing on that issue with Circuit Court Judge Melinda Morris was delayed and will take place later this month, Winters said. He said Hamati has been active in making improvements at the two properties but said the buildings aren’t fully up to code.

Among the property maintenance code violations listed in the complaint are damaged fascia and trim, loose gutters, an unsecured electrical box, damaged siding, debris on the roof, deteriorating and unsecured posts, excess vegetation, derelict sheds, a damaged billboard in one parking lot, sign code violations, exposed wiring inside the store, a blocked and locked back door, faulty wiring, an unsecured overhang and a trip hazard at the entry of one store.

Hamati said most of the work has been completed.

“We fixed the buildings and they are up to date,” he said. “All we need to do now is some painting.”

Sheriff’s Department deputies were dispatched to the Grove Road property 130 times in 2009 and 2010, and two people were shot there in January.

Hamati said he wasn’t present at any of the incidents where alcohol was sold to minors and isn’t responsible for the manager’s actions.

“I wasn’t there, the manager was running the business,” he said. “Sixty days is a lot and I lose a lot of business, but God is good, things happen for a reason and we can deal with 60 days. But if they revoke the license, that will kill our business.”

Winters said the township will still likely oppose the renewal of the license.

“I believe the township has reached its breaking point and the community has had enough with what goes on there,” he said.

Tom Perkins is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach The News desk at 734-623-2530. For more Ypsilanti stories, see our Ypsilanti page.