HopCat bar and restaurant in downtown Royal Oak won approval for a liquor license transfer and plan of operation this week.

Royal Oak police recommended approval of the restaurant’s transfer of a liquor license and the Royal Oak City Commission unanimously passed it Monday night.

As Crain's reported in September, Grand Rapids-based BarFly Ventures LLC, the parent company of HopCat, and landlord Innovo Development Group LLC of Kalamazoo will spend about $3.5 million to renovate the 11,700-square-foot space at 208 W. Fifth St. — the former home of Woody's and Onyx Steakhouse across from O'Tooles in a busy entertainment block of the Oakland County city.

HopCat paid $3 million for the three-story location, the Daily Tribune reported, which will be the sixth HopCat in Michigan when it opens in the first quarter of 2017.

The new location, with capacity for more than 400 guests, will have a rooftop beer garden on the third floor.

"We're completing remodeling all three floors to bring it up to date," Chris Knape, vice president of marketing and communications for BarFly Ventures, told Crain's in September. "It will look and feel unique."

The Royal Oak location will feature 130 taps on the building's first floor, along with an additional 30 taps of its "Local 30" (Michigan beers) selections at the second floor bar. Like each HopCat location, the Royal Oak spot will have its own beer program manager, so the selection will be different from the offerings in Detroit or Ann Arbor, for example.

BarFly Ventures has a 15-year lease for the space. The architect is AECOM out of Grand Rapids and the general contractor is Grand Rapids-based Wolverine Building Group.