Blacklist Shelves Restaurant Freebies for Police

For years, San Diego police officers frequented Topsy’s Coffee Shop on Washington Street, where they could expect 24-hour service, a friendly atmosphere and a 50% discount.

“We welcomed them because we respect them,” said manager Suzanne Thomas. “We were trying to offer a service out of respect for the department. Topsy’s is a place where they can sit down, relax and write a report if they want.”

But Topsy’s has been blacklisted and the discount days are over.

Besides Topsy’s, Police Chief Bob Burgreen has declared all 17 Sizzler restaurants in San Diego County and the Seven Seas Coffee Shop at the Best Western in Mission Valley off-limits to on-duty police because all have given free or discounted food or beverages to officers.

In February, 1990, Burgreen sent letters of warning to a number of restaurants frequently patronized by officers, describing the department’s policy of not accepting gratuities.

The crackdown was announced in two internal department memos, July 17 and Aug. 20, that ordered on-duty officers not to eat or drink at Sizzler, Seven Seas and Topsy’s.

“This action is necessary in order to maintain the high ethical standards set for us as members of the Police Department,” Burgreen wrote.

All three restaurants were asked not to provide discounts but “were unwilling to honor our policy regarding half-priced or discount meals,” said Lt. Michael Blakely, a spokesman for Burgreen. “Merely because someone is a member of a law enforcement agency shouldn’t mean discounts.”

Department policy forbids on-duty officers from receiving anything free or at a reduced rate. In addition, officers “shall not use their official position . . . for obtaining privileges not otherwise available to them except in the performance of duty.”

A Sizzler executive said three of its 17 locations offered either 20% discounts, usually reserved for senior citizens, or 50% reductions, reserved for restaurant employees. But the discounts have been stopped, the executive said.

“We are abiding by the chief’s order,” said Michael Wildman, regional vice president of Sizzler International. “We liked to have officers come in our locations. We didn’t feel like we were buying protection, just encouraging them to come eat at our establishment.”

At Topsy’s, a San Diego institution and cop hangout for 22 years, manager Thomas is furious about the chief’s order.

“They have a lot more problems to worry about over there than where people eat lunch,” Thomas said. “These officers are not paid that much. A lot of them have families. This is a place where they can come in off the street. I would have given them the food and coffee for free, but I realized people might not like that.”

Since Burgreen’s order came out Aug. 20 about Topsy’s, no uniformed officer has stopped into the restaurant. Thomas said she is hurt by the lack of their presence, because she and her family have offered them a gathering spot for years.

At the Seven Seas, cashier Maria Hanson said San Diego police and members of the California Highway Patrol get free coffee. General Manager David Martin denied that any discounts are given.