Complaints Prompt Officials to Revoke Liquor Licenses at 2 Eastside Bars

Responding to complaints by residents, state and local law enforcement officials Wednesday posted license-revocation notices at two East Los Angeles bars, one of which was the site of two slayings during the past five years.

“When I walked by on my way to McDonald’s at night I saw people [urinating] in front and drunk old men fighting in the parking lot,” said resident Raquel Rodriquez, while walking by one of the bars, the Beehive. “There were also women who would go in with little tops and big heels. They looked like prostitutes.”

The Beehive, in the 5000 block of Whittier Boulevard, and El Tapatio Bar, in the 4000 block of East 3rd Street, had their licenses revoked by the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Owners may file appeals before the actual shutdowns are ordered.

“Although the legal process to close the two bars took a long time to accomplish, I’m pleased the residents in the area will have an improved quality of live,” said county Supervisor Gloria Molina, who was joined by Sheriff Sherman Block, other officials and residents at a news conference in the Beehive’s parking lot.

The revocation orders followed scores of calls from residents who reported drug deals, intoxicated patrons, prostitution, public urination and fights.

The Beehive “is one of the most problematic bars in East Los Angeles,” said Deputy Arturo Chavez of the East Los Angeles sheriff’s station, flipping through decades-old reports. “We have reports on illegal gambling and public drunkenness that go as far back as the 1960s.”

Under the revocation order, an ABC-licensed business cannot be opened at the location for at least a year once it loses its license.

ABC officials investigated and filed accusations against both bars for using female employees to encourage male patrons to buy overpriced drinks in June and August of 1994.

Since the beginning of last year, officials revoked the license of another Eastside bar, El Herradero, in the 4000 block of Whittier Boulevard, and imposed 10- to 40-day suspensions on at least 12 other bars and liquor stores.