B Spot Burgers in Royal Oak appears to have closed its doors

Robert Allen | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Bartender on how Royal Oak nightlife has changed Longtime Gusoline Alley bartender Patrick Tierney talks Royal Oak nightlife and how it's changed over the years.

B Spot Burgers appears to have closed in downtown Royal Oak; on Thursday afternoon, the front door was locked, with a key lock box hanging from the handle, and the floor inside cleared of chairs.

The lights were on, but the restaurant hadn't opened by its scheduled 4 p.m. start time. A Free Press message to the chain restaurant location's Facebook page requesting comment was "seen," but nobody immediately responded. A call to the phone number listing played a Verizon Wireless recording: "The wireless customer you called is not available at this time..."

The Royal Oak location on Thursday is not included on the B Spot website. The apparent closure was first reported by Detroit Metro Times.

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If it has indeed closed, it would be the fourth restaurant name this summer to disappear from Royal Oak's downtown Main Street. A nearby Andiamo location's closure was reported in July. And closures of both Cantina Diablos and its upstairs neighbor, Red Fox, were planned as ownership changed, with plans underway to open as different establishments.

B Spot's ownership, Michael Symon Restaurants, has recently closed three other locations of the chain burger restaurant, including one in Rochester Hills and others in Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio, according to Cleveland.com. The website reports that about five remain open, and that Symon — a celebrity chef — is busy with other endeavors including Roast restaurant in downtown Detroit.

The Royal Oak B Spot opened in November 2014 at 310 S Main St. The space was previously Gemmayze Mediterranean restaurant and, before that, Small Plates.

The changes in Royal Oak's downtown, which continues to be a hot-spot for dining and bar-hopping on nights and weekends, occur as it undergoes substantial renovation projects — with parking changes drawing ire from restaurateurs and visitors. Andiamo Group president and CEO Joe Vicari said in July that the closure of a nearby parking lot to make way for a construction project "was really the last nail in the coffin."

And a group of restaurants including — including Little Tree Sushi Bar, Dixie Moon Saloon and several real-estate investment partnerships — had sued the city to block nearby construction projects, but a state appeals court on Aug. 1 dismissed the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs' group, which calls itself Take Back Royal Oak, contends that the city's approval of plans to erect a mid-rise office tower and nearby parking deck on the former city-owned parking lot in front of Royal Oak City Hall is causing an acute shortage of parking in the downtown. The shortage threatens their businesses, they assert. The group also maintains that the construction site, directly behind their Main Street eateries and other properties, interferes with patrons' preferred access through the rear doors of their buildings, which face the former city-owned parking area.

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A new seven-story parking deck opened in January at Second and Center and another seven-story deck is being constructed as part of the $58 million Rethink Royal Oak project, which includes a new city hall and police station.

City officials have said that when the overall plan is done, there will be two new parking decks in the downtown to provide sufficient parking spaces.

Free Press staff writer Bill Laitner contributed to this report.

Contact Robert Allen on Twitter @rallenMI or rallen@freepress.com.