San Fernando Valley
CUT SHORT: Years of fights, loud music and rowdy patrons have forced Tommy’s Original World Famous Hamburgers in Burbank to curtail its around-the-clock hours after the City Council denied the eatery’s appeal of a permit to operate all night.
The council voted 5 to 0 on Tuesday to uphold a planning board decision to order Tommy’s to close from midnight to 6 a.m. The restaurant on San Fernando Road has been the site of numerous police calls since it started its 24-hour schedule eight years ago.
Councilman Bob Kramer said he has witnessed the problems firsthand.
“I have been on police ride-alongs where we go to Tommy’s four times in one night to break up fights or to stop people from drinking in parking lots,” Kramer said.
William B. Rudell, an attorney for Tommy’s, said the company has tried to control crowds that gather late at night, including hiring two security guards for weekend nights. But he said the restaurant can’t be held responsible for everything that goes on in the neighborhood.
“We have no means of controlling incidents on adjacent properties that have been unfairly attributed to Tommy’s,” Rudell said.
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