City council members approved a liquor license for a new downtown restaurant during Tuesday’s meeting.

Seth Parker, representing B Graves, spoke to the council about the new restaurant scheduled to open in about two weeks.

“This is the first restaurant of this concept that we’re opening,” he told council members. “We felt like there was a need for a concept like this in Troy.”

The restaurant will be located at 65 Court Square in downtown Troy and will offer lunch and dinner service, as well as a brunch on weekends. “We hope to be open by Mother’s Day,” Parker said.

The council also took additional actions related to growing retail business in Troy.

Members approved the first reading of ordinances that will allow the city to proceed with site work on a parcel of land optioned as part of the retail development on U.S. 231.

“Harbert Realty has an option to purchase this land … and has asked that we go ahead and do the dirt work while the other construction is underway,” Mayor Jason Reeves told members during the work session.

The city will move about 150,000 cubic yards of dirt at a cost of about $450,000 to prepare the site for development. All costs will be recouped when and if Harbert exercises its option on that land.

The property is part of the area under development for a new retail shopping center, anchored by a Publix grocery store and adjacent to the new Enzor Road connector road.

In other business on Tuesday, the council:

• Recognized Jensen Garrett, who won the Keep Troy Beautiful ad design contest.

• Recognized Mia Thomas, a CHHS student who will be attending college on a scholarship to study biomedical sciences.

• Held the first reading of an ordinance to rezone 50.8 acres on U.S. 231 South based on the recommendation of the Planning Commission. The property is located east of South Franklin Drive and would be rezoned to include 21.6 acres of C4 and 28.4 acres of M1, light industrial property. The public can comment on the zoning during the next council meeting.

• Declared an AED device used by the Troy Fire Department as surplus. “Our goal is to replace this equipment and in order to do so we need to determine if it can be traded in,” Reeves said. “Declaring the item surplus is the first step.” Fire Chief Buford Stephens said the department will upgrade the 2002 AED device with a new one that includes a heart monitor.

• Unanimously approved the reappointment of Kenny Campbell to the airport board for a five-year term beginning April 29.

• Approved the appointment of Max Davis, retiring general manager of Southeast Alabama Electric Cooperative, to fill the unexpired term of Burt Brown on the Industrial Development Board. The term ends Dec. 14, 2017. Councilwoman Dejerilyn King Henderson abstained from the vote.

• Finalized the Troy Hospital at the prior meeting.