Hermosa Pier’s Success Brews a Battle

There’s no want for something to do in the new Hermosa Beach. Bars buzz with beach-goers on the new Pier Plaza on lower Pier Avenue. The weekend dinner crowd has its choice of more than a dozen restaurants within a block of the Hermosa Pier. There are T-shirt shops, gift shops and plans to bring stores with name-brand familiarity to downtown.

Remolding this beachside area into a night-life mecca has given the city a much-needed economic boost and put Hermosa Beach on a long list of cities that have reinvented their aging downtowns. But beyond the crowds and infusion of new business, a battle is brewing between the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the city over how much is too much.

The state agency charged with regulating alcohol has cracked down on a number of Hermosa restaurants and bars in recent weeks, imposing restrictions on dancing and hours of operation and requiring that patio restaurant patrons order food with their drinks. Now, with less than a week before the official opening of the palm-tree-lined plaza, city officials are questioning the ABC’s authority over such issues.

City officials have complained in writing to Gov. Pete Wilson that the ABC is threatening the city’s economic advance. The governor last week ordered the state agency that oversees the ABC to review the issue, said Ron Low, a spokesman for the governor. As a result, ABC Director Jay Stroh has scheduled a meeting for Monday with county Supervisor Don Knabe and Hermosa Beach City Council members to discuss the matter.

In a letter to the governor July 22, City Council members Sam Edgerton and Bergie Benz accused the ABC of being heavy-handed in its dealings with a number of establishments and contended that the restrictions imposed on businesses are matters of local control. The letter was drafted after three restaurants complained that the agency had cited them for allowing their customers to dance.

“What they’re doing is unwarranted and unwelcome,” Benz said. “They’re causing more problems than they’re solving. They’ve lost touch with reality.”

ABC officials contend that the establishments that have been written up did not have entertainment licenses and, because they are new licensees, are currently on probation. The ABC is merely doing its job, officials said, which has grown with the influx of restaurants and bars.

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There are 28 establishments with alcohol licenses downtown, more than triple the number normally allowed, said the ABC’s Los Angeles district administrator, Ed Mimiaga. Business owners can petition the ABC if they can show that there is a reasonable demand for more liquor licenses, and Hermosa Beach has been granted additional licenses to accommodate the number of people who visit the city.

The high concentration of bars and restaurants has led several residents to complain, Mimiaga said, and the agency is worried that too many of the establishments are becoming like nightclubs.

“We have noticed that activity has changed quite a bit on Friday and Saturday nights,” said Mimiaga, who has been with the ABC for 22 years. “There are lots of restaurants and that’s important to a community, but we need to make sure that they stay restaurants and don’t become entertainment centers.”

The beef between the ABC and the city centers on which governmental entity should control the restaurants and bars. City officials contend that conditional-use permits specify the hours of operation and the kinds of activity allowed.

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But ABC officials say restrictions on dancing, business hours and the amount of food served are imposed to prevent a licensee from creating a bar or a nightclub, which is more likely to lead to problems such as public drunkenness and drunk driving. Mimiaga added that owners agree to those restrictions as a condition of receiving their state liquor license.

At Club Sushi, a restaurant kittycorner from the plaza, a bank of television screens flashes a montage of movie and music videos while a deejay spins pulsating sounds of hip-hop and pop. Sushi-eating diners often get the urge to dance and, though there’s no dance floor, they sometimes boogie or sway near their tables.

These days, however, weekends at the pricey sushi bar are beginning to resemble a scene from the movie “Footloose” in which a minister tries to stop the kids in town from dancing.

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The ABC has ordered the eatery to stop its customers from dancing, owners said. Proprietors say they’re now playing more adult contemporary and less upbeat music to keep dancing feet under the dinner table. And customers who dare to dance are asked to stop.

“The customers usually laugh at us, and say ‘You gotta be kidding,’ ” said Scott McColgan, co-owner of Club Sushi. “But we say, ‘No, we’re serious, the ABC doesn’t want you dancing.’ It’s hard. We’re really paranoid.”

Similarly, Patrick Molloy’s, a year-old restaurant and bar, has switched from live music to an automatic system and has turned down the volume. Co-owner Bill Saedlo said he has also been forced to hire more security and other workers to comply with the ABC mandate that patrons drinking alcohol on the outdoor patio also order food.

Residents have mixed feelings about the ABC’s involvement. Some don’t like the way the city has paved lower Pier Avenue and transformed it into a promenade with stainless-steel benches and lamps as part of a $7-million downtown improvement project.

“I don’t like the climate that’s developed down there. It’s all bars,” said Jim Lissner, a 25-year resident.

Others prefer the new Hermosa Beach. “You can walk there; there’s stuff to do,” said Scott McEwen, 26, whose apartment sits just above the busy street. “It’s cool.”

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Pier Plaza

The newly open Pier Plaza is the first phase of a $7 million Downtown Improvement Project to revitalize Hermosa Beach. Lower Pier Avenue has been turned into an outdoor plaza with sidewalk cafes and eateries. As part of the next phase, scheduled to begin this fall, the city plans to renovate the aging Hermosa Pier and build a parking structure.