Coffee Shop’s Bid for Bands Is Denied

Just a week after shutting down one nightclub in Costa Mesa, city officials quashed another local business’ plans to open another one.

The owners of Our House, a coffee shop on West 19th Street, were told Monday to scrap their plans to bring in bands and allow dancing. Planning commissioners said they feared the nightclub-type entertainment would contribute to disturbances in the neighborhood.

Operators of the Empire Ballroom nightclub were dealt a similar blow last week when they were rebuffed by the City Council in their attempt to win a permit to stay open.

City officials said the nightclub had grown in popularity since opening less than two years ago. But as the crowds grew, so did the number of disturbances, and police had to spend more time keeping watch over the place, city officials said.

Residents near the club on West 17th Street had complained that limited parking at the Empire Ballroom forced customers to park on their streets. They often returned to their automobiles drunk and noisy.