L.A. Council Committee Backs Bistro Garden Liquor License

The city of Los Angeles moved a step closer Tuesday to approving a liquor license for a San Fernando Valley version of a posh Beverly Hills restaurant.

However, the owner of Bistro Garden said he is “seriously considering” pulling out of the Studio City shopping center that would house his new restaurant because of opposition from nearby residents.

The Los Angeles City Council’s Planning Committee approved granting the luxury dining establishment a liquor license for its proposed location at the Center at Coldwater shopping center, under construction at the former Tail O’ the Cock restaurant site at Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Ventura Boulevard.

The recommendation goes to the full council, where it is expected to be approved Feb. 15. Councilman Mike Woo, whose district includes Studio City, supports the committee’s recommendation. Council members customarily defer to a colleague on a project in his district.

After the meeting Tuesday, restaurant owner Kurt Niklas, who plans to have former President and Mrs. Reagan as guests at the Bistro Garden in Beverly Hills in a few weeks, said: “I am seriously considering withdrawing from the project.”

Because of opposition to the restaurant from nearby residents, “you wonder whether you’re moving in the right neighborhood,” he said.

The committee’s action came after a two-hour hearing, during which the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn. clashed with the Studio City Residents Assn. and the Sherman Oaks and Studio City chambers of commerce, all of which supported the restaurant’s request for a liquor permit.

Some residents near the center, supported by the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn., expressed concern that the restaurant would add noise and traffic to neighboring residential streets.

“The developer said the center will sponsor an elite clientele,” Margaret Casey, who lives near the center, told the committee. “I would appreciate it if he would show us where it is written where the word elite before an individual’s name, or a healthy wallet, guarantees the individual will exhibit the manners of a lady or a gentleman or consideration for the resident when he or she exits the center, especially after one too many.”

Jo Dell Hays, president of the Studio City Chamber of Commerce, asked Bistro Garden opponents whether they would rather have a McDonald’s restaurant in the center.

Beverly Hills Mayor Robert Tanenbaum said the Bistro and Bistro Garden have been operated in his community since 1965 and 1978, respectively, without problems. “I see no reason why a similar establishment would not be a good neighbor and asset to the city of Los Angeles,” he told the committee.

Woo said he is satisfied that the city has imposed restrictions on developer Herbert Piken that will protect the serenity of the adjoining residential neighborhood--including requiring city approval for any additional food establishments in the center.