LAPD Seeks Late-Night Shutdown of Diner

As the neighborhood bars close on the weekend, the partying shifts to Que Ricos.

Located in a shopping center on Woodman Avenue, the all-night Mexican restaurant draws huge crowds in the early morning hours--but not just for the menudo.

With all the adjoining businesses closed, patrons have the run of the shopping center parking lot--and use it to race trucks, sell drugs and play loud music, according to police. Neighbors and police say gunfights are common.

“Most of us are afraid to go outside,” said a 58-year-old man who lives nearby. “They basically terrorize this whole neighborhood, and their headquarters is Que Ricos. And if it wasn’t open 24 hours, they wouldn’t be attracted to this area.”

Like other residents, the man did not want his name used for fear of reprisals.

Police say they are called to quell disturbances at Que Ricos about twice a week--and are now getting ready to fight back.

The Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division will ask the city attorney’s office to initiate nuisance abatement proceedings that would force Que Ricos to close from midnight to 3 a.m. on weekends and to station security guards every night.

“The community has been screaming about this for at least four, five years. We hope it will be effective to bring the business owner to the table,” said Foothill Division Capt. Kenneth Garner.

“As a business you have a responsibility for the safety of the neighborhood. If you’re attracting these people, you have to be willing to do something about it,” Garner said.

Que Ricos owner Gustavo Castillo, who opened the restaurant nine years ago, acknowledges the problems. But Castillo said he would lose too much money if he closed during the early morning hours--at least $1,000 a night on Fridays and Saturdays.

“It’s not my problem and I don’t want my business to suffer,” said Castillo, who owns seven Que Ricos restaurants. “The police must come here more often.”

Castillo said he has had security guards in the past but they were ineffective--the rowdy patrons intimidated them.

1 Killing, Many Fights

Last month, a fight occurred outside the restaurant in which three men were stabbed, police say. And in October 1999, a 27-year-old Pacoima man was killed and three other young men were wounded during a shooting in front of Que Ricos.

A 43-year-old woman who lives in an apartment near the restaurant said the mayhem keeps her awake at night, worrying that a stray bullet will come through her windows.

“We’ve done everything we can except having the police sit there, which is unrealistic,” said Senior Lead Officer Normand Dumais of the Foothill Division.

Most citizen complaints are about loud music, racing vehicles or other disturbances, but there have also been several assaults and gunfire calls, Dumais said.

The problems near Que Ricos disappeared when Castillo voluntarily shut down earlier in the night for two weeks in 1998, Dumais said. But Castillo said he lost too much money and crime didn’t decrease much.

Que Ricos, which means “How Delicious” in Spanish, may attract some revelers with its daily menudo. Hard-drinking customers bring their own liquor; the restaurant does not serve alcohol.

Restaurateur Would Fight Restrictions

Complaints such as those described by police are appropriate for abatement proceedings, said Supervising Deputy City Atty. Tina Hess. The process has been used against motels and more recently against other restaurants, according to the LAPD’s Garner. As part of an abatement, officials use a civil injunction against a property owner to induce changes, Hess said, but generally 95% of owners comply without a court order.

“Most of our cases are resolved once we call the property owner,” Hess said.

An abatement can result in a lien being placed on a business, which could result in the owner’s closing up shop, authorities said.

Castillo said he will go to court if necessary to stay open 24 hours. But police said protecting the restaurant’s profits are not the priority.

“I don’t want to take money away from them, but if it’s causing more of a problem than a benefit, I don’t want them there,” Dumais said.