Scott Wartman

swartman@nky.com

Hooters and the adjacent bar, Beer Sellar, in Newport might have to move slightly west - closer to the Purple People Bridge - to make way for development.

What that development is, Newport City Manager Tom Fromme couldn't say. It's too early in the process.

The city, however, wanted permission from the owner of both establishments to move if needed, Fromme said.

The commission will vote on an amended lease agreement with the restaurants to relocate several hundred feet west if necessary. The move might not happen, Fromme said.

"I can't say. It's all right now in the preliminary stages," Fromme said. "We're looking at different alternatives for potential development there. This is just a piece of the puzzle. If we couldn't have worked out a deal with Hooters moving, then any potential development wouldn't go anywhere."

Hooters and Beer Sellar are among one of the last floating restaurants on the riverfront. For now, it'll be business as usual at Hooters and the Beer Sellar.

"This thing is a long way out," Fromme said. "This isn't anything that's imminent or anything like this. It may never go anywhere.

Don Pablo's in Newport shut down