City Cafe in Fayetteville is expected to open by Labor

Day week, owner Doreen Schatte said last week.

In a special called meeting Thursday, City Council

approved a change in its ordinances that will grant the restaurant an

80 percent exemption from fees charged new businesses to

cover their impact on water and sewer services.

Council passed the ordinance recently to attract "quality

restaurants" to its historic downtown Main Street district, but City

Cafe had already begun construction, just missing out on the benefit.

Council members in recent discussions have agreed that the

restaurant is exactly the kind of business they want to attract to

downtown, but a change in the ordinance was required in order

to grant the exemption.

Delayed by rain during early construction, the cafe is

almost ready, said Schatte, but she and husband Jorg want to make

sure staff are fully trained before opening.

They are hoping for Labor Day week, she said, but that's not

cast in stone.

The restaurant will serve lunch and dinner with a European

flavor, and German pastries and treats will be available for

breakfast. The two-story restaurant building also will house

the couple's catering operation.

City Cafe will be a restaurant as well as a bakery, with about

50 seats inside and the same number outside, Jorg Schatte said

recently. The Southern-style building will have a fire place for

ambience, and other architectural touches such as a stamped

concrete floor. "It will be a great asset to the city," said Schatte.

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