COSTA MESA : Happy Hour for Bar: Court Keeps It Open

After nearly a year of legal feuding with the City Council, Henry N’ Harry’s Goat Hill Tavern has won the right to stay open, despite repeated efforts by the council to shut down the popular bar.

In a ruling last week, Superior Court Commissioner Greer H. Stroud set aside the council’s decision to close the tavern, saying that owner Robert (Zeb) Ziemer had a vested property right to the bar.

The court ruling came more than a year after residents in nearby apartments complained that the bar’s patrons littered the area with beer bottles and urinated and defecated at neighboring businesses. The City Council refused to renew the bar’s permit last summer and unanimously upheld its decision at a court-ordered hearing in December.

The popular Newport Boulevard nightspot continued to operate while Ziemer appealed the council’s decision.

“Unfortunately, my client had to obtain three stay orders (to keep the bar open) and bring three writs of mandate before he ultimately prevailed,” Alan Burns, Ziemer’s attorney, said Wednesday. “Nevertheless, he’s very happy.”

The court ruled that the onus rested with the city to prove the tavern is a public nuisance, Burns said.

Attorney Cristina Sierra, who represented the city, said the city intends to file an appeal.

Ziemer, a 59-year-old Costa Mesa resident, said he would continue the fight to keep the bar open.

“I remain ready to go further if I have to,” he said. “But for now I’m happy, and my 30 employees are happy that their jobs are not in jeopardy.”