A revitalization project calls for the Oasis Mall in Pequot Lakes to be torn down and rebuilt this spring. The new building would include a Dairy Queen Chill & Grill with drive-through on the south end, a liquor store, laundromat and convenience store with bait, all with entrances in the front. SarieÕs Place restaurant would no longer be part of the mall.

If everything falls into place, the Oasis Mall in Pequot Lakes will be torn down and rebuilt to house a Dairy Queen, liquor store, convenience store and laundromat, all by this spring.

Brian Laudenbach, an owner of the Oasis Mall, and Sean Kaneski, representing Dairy Queen, told the Pequot Lakes City Council on Monday about the proposed $2 million revitalization project.

Kaneski had approached Laudenbach, seeking property for a Dairy Queen Grill & Chill with a drive-through. Kaneski's wife, Lisa, and her sister, Kathy Martin, own the Dairy Queens in Nisswa and Pine River as well.

Sean Kaneski, director of project development for Keupers in Baxter, also is the project developer.

Laudenbach told the council that after looking at different options regarding the Oasis building, he and his company decided the best option is to tear down the entire structure. However, that will depend on the current tenants who still have leases, especially the owner of Sarie's Place, the restaurant.

Laudenbach said he had already talked to the owners of Grooming by LaRee, Kyle's Salon and Studio by Design. He owns the former Fast Cash building behind the Oasis, and said that remodeled building could be a possible place for relocation.

Taking a positive spin, he said the dislocated businesses could, perhaps, fill other empty storefronts in town.

To ensure his investment, Laudenbach sought council support regarding the city's off-sale liquor licenses.

He said at the Oasis Mall, the convenience store and laundromat are not money-makers; the liquor store would be the business relied upon for profits.

So, Laudenbach asked the council not to allow more than two off-sale liquor licenses in the city, and to require a distance of at least one-third mile between off-sale license locations.

Oasis Liquor and Pestello's have the two existing off-sale licenses, and they are more than one-third mile apart.

Laudenbach said a major remodeling of the liquor store is planned to make it more profitable, including marketing strategies and better pricing. It would be a warehouse type liquor store with a big beer cooler.

After discussion, the council amended its liquor ordinance to say the city would not consider issuing a third off-sale liquor license in the city until the city's population exceeded 5,000 people, and that businesses with off-sale liquor licenses must be at least one-third mile apart. The city's population currently is just under 2,000 people.

The council also agreed to write a letter urging future council members to maintain the new liquor license ordinance.

Existing city ordinance also requires businesses with liquor licenses to be 500 feet from a church or school. Oasis Liquor is close to a church and school building, and Pestello's is close to a church, but both were grandfathered-in.

Developers of the SuperValu grocery store being built in Pequot Lakes have proposed a liquor store at that site. However, they haven't applied for an off-sale liquor license, and that store is next to a church.

The Oasis Mall revitalization project also must go before the planning and zoning commission for a conditional use permit.

Laudenbach said they hope to start tearing down the building March 1, with businesses open in the new building by mid- to late May.

The new 10,368-square-foot building would include 2,238 square feet for the Dairy Queen on the south end, a 4,159-square-foot liquor store and 712-square-foot laundromat in the middle, as well as the convenience store/bait shop on the north end.