The College Park City Council agreed yesterday to let a restaurant applying for a liquor license transfer from Los Cabos to derive half its sales from alcohol – a deal that would give it the freedom to do more bar business than most traditional restaurants.

The owners of the new venue, which will be called Varsity Grille, fought for an increase over the previous agreement with Los Cabos, which was 70 percent food sales and 30 percent alcohol. Los Cabos, whose owners told council members last year their sales suffered without a focus on bar business, is set to shut down the first week of June.

In large bars downtown, such as Santa Fe Café and Cornerstone Grill and Loft, alcohol makes up a large majority of sales. But the owners of the bars negotiated higher ratios with council members after making concessions such as installing sprinklers or limiting liquor advertisements. The agreements are forged with the city in exchange for support at the county liquor board hearing. Varsity Grille’s hearing is scheduled for May 22.

Though Varsity Grille owners requested to have a larger portion of its sales from alcohol, Jim McGinnis, one of the principal owners of Varsity Grille, insists the emphasis at the restaurant will be on food. McGinnis has a prior connection to the building, located on Route 1 next to Taco Bell, having worked as an advertising agent for Los Cabos.

“Our kitchen’s going to be open as long as we’re open,” he said. “We’re not geared towards students at all. We want to attract families, and kids will eat free.”

Still, the Grille, which is set to open this summer, will include college-themed sports decor and televisions for watching sports to go with its American steakhouse fare.

City officials are skeptical about the claim that the restaurant will have a family focus, however.

“A business wants to chase the large crowds in this town at some point in time,” said College Park Mayor Stephen Brayman. “The way that everybody does it is through their liquor licenses.”

District 4 Councilwoman Mary Cook, whose district includes properties neighboring Varsity Grille, said she expects the restaurant to function mostly as a college bar.

“It’s so near the university, I wouldn’t expect it to be anything but that,” she said. “I don’t expect it to be a family restaurant.”

Brayman raised concerns over cheap happy hour drink specials that attract large crowds, especially students.

Under the agreement, which has not yet been finalized by a vote, the city council attempts to curb bar activity by prohibiting the restaurant from displaying alcohol ads in its front window, passing out leaflets as ads and selling beer in pitchers.

The agreement also puts a $2-minimum price on drinks, limits happy hour from 3 to 7 p.m. and requires drink specials be tied to food – a clause McGinnis says he agree with but doesn’t see as necessary.

“I don’t think I go out because there’s lower priced beer,” said McGinnis. “If I’m going out with three or four of my buddies, we’re going there for the ambiance, not the prices.”

McGinnis said an automatic ID scanner will be in place and all servers will be trained to prevent underage drinking.

“I don’t think anyone in College Park has something like this,” he said of the scanner, which he claims cost between $600 and $1200. “It shows that we’re going above and beyond.”

Alcohol pricing is also an issue for both the council and the restaurant.

McGinnis said expensive alcoholic drinks may not accurately reflect alcohol sales because the cost of non-alcoholic ingredients such as ice, mixers and fruit is factored into drink sales.

No parking problems are anticipated with the neighboring Taco Bell, said McGinnis, who has yet to speak with the restaurant.

Contact reporter Laura Schwartzman at schwartzmandbk@gmail.com.