FOUNTAIN VALLEY : Restaurant Cited by the City Closes

The City Council this week revoked a special permit to close Chez Moi Restaurant and Sports Bar because the business had been given 101 violation citations, mostly for liquor and entertainment abuses.

At a special meeting, the council unanimously agreed not to pursue criminal charges against owner Loc Huy Nguyen since he agreed to give up operating the business.

In a letter to the council, Nguyen wrote that he will give up all rights to operating the business, if the city dropped criminal charges against him.

“I can’t recall another business having over 100 violations of its conditional use permit--and we did the obvious thing that was required,” Mayor John Collins said. “The people who operated this business have shown total disregard for the laws of our cities.”

Andrew Perea, planning services manager, said that on June 16, the owner voluntarily closed the restaurant at 16525 Brookhurst St.

Since November, 1993, through early June, the restaurant has had a history of police and criminal activities as well as city, county and state code violations, Perea said.

Neighboring residents have also made complaints about noise and traffic at the restaurant, city officials said.

“One of the biggest complaints is that it was turning more into a bar than a restaurant,” Perea said. Perea said that the among violations, the restaurant owner conducted live entertainment on weekdays when it was permitted only on Friday and Saturday nights.

Perea added that the restaurant held fashion shows, which were also prohibited under its special city permit.

The restaurant was permitted to serve liquor until midnight, but Perea said often alcoholic beverages were sold after midnight as well as sometimes after 2 a.m.

There were also numerous police calls to the establishment for fights and gunshots fired in the parking lot, officials said.