WESTMINSTER : Liquor License Revoked and Bias Claim Rejected

The owner of a Vietnamese restaurant who alleges that racism was behind the revocation of his liquor license lost an appeal this week.

The liquor and entertainment licenses of Dem Saigon, a restaurant at 15470 Magnolia St., were revoked by the city’s Planning Commission in July after police reported that the establishment was operating as a nightclub and bar, rather than a restaurant, violating a requirement that its alcohol sales be secondary to food sales.

Owner Bi Van Tran appealed the decision to the City Council, saying that some planning officials allowed ethnic bias to affect their decision. Attorney Deanna S.F. Sanitoa, who represents Tran, told council members Tuesday that her client lost his liquor license “simply because he is Vietnamese.”

Mayor Charles V. Smith said that allegation is ridiculous. “Of all the years I’ve been on this council, this is one of the grossest violations of the conditional-use permit I’ve seen,” he said. “To accuse the Planning Commission of racism is absurd.”

According to official reports, several police inspections revealed that the restaurant’s kitchen contained no food, no menus, was dusty and appeared to not have been used in some time.

The restaurant, formerly Charlie’s Hideaway, also allegedly employed women who enticed male customers to buy drinks at inflated prices in exchange for sex, police reports stated.

Arrests have been made in connection with the crimes, police said, and charges have been filed against Tran and several of the women he allegedly employed, police said.

Councilman Tony Lam said Dem Saigon has had ample time to comply with city codes but has not done so. “We aren’t targeting anyone on the basis of race or ethnicity,” he said. “The police did raid the premises a couple times and found it wasn’t operating as allowed.”