Coffeehouses Get a Reprieve on Music Ban

A sign hanging above the croissants and espresso-maker in the Habitat coffeehouse was like a slap in the face to City Councilman Alan S. Lowenthal.

With a reference to fascist policies in Long Beach city government, the sign announced that entertainment at the coffeehouse had been shut down by the city and that the place was in danger of closing.

A coffeehouse without acoustic guitars or poetry readings accompanied by music? Unthinkable.

Lowenthal got to work, and Tuesday persuaded the council to instruct the city attorney to write an emergency ordinance waiving the city’s strict entertainment licensing laws for coffeehouses for 90 days until a new law can be written.

Current entertainment licensing, written for restaurants and bars that want music or dancing, requires the establishment to have a full kitchen. Applicants also must submit to an investigation by the police vice squad before receiving a license.

The 18 coffeehouses that have sprung up in Long Beach within the last four years or so would still be required to obtain some kind of entertainment license, Lowenthal said. But new regulations would be tailored for their businesses. Full kitchens and vice-squad checks probably will not be required.

Some of the smaller coffeehouses, such as Habitat, Daniel Pinn’s 520-square-foot storefront on 7th Street, don’t have room for a kitchen.

“All I serve is coffee, croissants and art,” said Pinn, who put up the sign that attracted Lowenthal’s attention after police shut down his live music April 12. Police went to Habitat after a neighbor complained about the noise from a band of tribal drums at the coffeehouse.

Two council members, Douglas Drummond and Jeffrey A. Kellogg, said they feared the issue was being rushed and opposed the 90-day moratorium on the law governing coffeehouses.

“We have a few of those places in my district, and we’ve had problems . . . with people smoking dope in there,” Drummond said. “And there’s noise complaints.”

The majority of the council sided with Lowenthal, however, and voted 7 to 2 for the moratorium.

“We don’t want to discourage these businesses,” said Councilwoman Doris Topsy-Elvord.

Without live music or readings to attract customers, Pinn’s brightly painted store became nearly empty, he said. When a band was playing, Pinn could count on 30 to 40 customers, he said. On nights with no band, maybe five people ventured in.

“I would’ve been out of business in a month without music,” Pinn said.

Existing laws allow anyone to circumvent entertainment licensing if they have one performer at a time. But owners can quickly run out of one-man bands, they said.

“At Christmastime, I couldn’t have five kindergartners come in and sing carols because of this law,” said Robert Aikens, general manager of the Upstart Crow bookstore and coffeehouse in Shoreline Village. “I want to start a Sunday brunch with chamber music, but I can’t do that without an expensive permit.”

An entertainment license, which requires that business owners also get a conditional-use permit if they aren’t in a zone that specifically allows entertainment, can cost $2,500, Lowenthal said.