Crowd, crowder, crowdest

HOW many people does it take to fill a bar?

That’s up in the air at Father’s Office, at least according to bar owner Sang Yoon. The number of patrons allowed inside the Santa Monica watering hole -- famous for its burger, topped with smoky-sweet caramelized onions, bacon, Gruyere and blue cheeses and arugula -- has been in flux during the last few months, since the city Fire Department in June lowered the maximum capacity to 49 people until a second exit was installed.

That meant an extra long line to get in -- sometimes all the way down the block -- and an extra long wait -- sometimes over an hour, according to some customers. Once you got in, the usually packed bar (where it was hard to make your way to a bartender to order one of the 50-plus artisan beers on tap) seemed oddly empty. The upside was that you could actually get a table, a phenomenon unheard of before.

Yoon added another exit last month; even so, exactly how many people he is allowing in the bar remains unclear. Yoon won’t say what the capacity is because he says, “There are a lot of unresolved issues.”

In a recent visit to Father’s Office, a maximum occupancy sign wasn’t visible.

“The problem is it’s not set in stone yet,” Yoon says. “What we do is based on certain guidelines but there’s a lot of gray area. We’re still in the middle of it....I can’t tell you how many people we let in because it could be different every day.

“Give us another month and we’ll have it all settled.”

But Santa Monica’s Assistant Fire Marshal Joe Paneno says, “To the best of my understanding, it’s 76. They were overcrowding and we received several complaints from people who just didn’t feel comfortable or safe.... It’s a very safe operation now.”

So what’s the “gray area”?

“If the configuration for the floor plan changes, the occupancy number could change,” Paneno says.

Yoon didn’t return calls for comment on whether he plans to change the floor plan.

Meanwhile, on a recent Friday night, there was still a line outside, but the wait was less than 20 minutes. Inside, the place was packed and customers jockeyed for tables and seats at the bar.

Those thirsty for a brew or hungry for a burger were reduced to watching and waiting and hoping that the lucky seated chap with a half-finished lager wouldn’t be ordering another.

And no matter how many people are allowed inside the bar, there’s bound to be a line. There’s always the to-go option; tell the door guy that you want a burger to go and a bartender will come out and take your order.

But most are willing to stick it out, and just as you might be thinking about giving up, someone walks out of the bar, pumps a fist in the air and yells, “It’s worth it!”

Betty Hallock

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Small bites

* Circa 55 has opened in the renovated Beverly Hilton hotel. Chef Sean Dent’s menu features prime steaks and lots of seafood, with offerings such as wild Tasmanian salmon with fennel and lemon confit, hickory smoked baby back ribs, tuna sliders or flights of caviar. The restaurant overlooks the Aqua Star pool and also features a new bar, C55. The restaurant’s name refers to the year the hotel opened, 1955.

9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 887-6055.

* The Patina Group continues its push into Orange County. The company opened Leatherby’s Cafe Rouge on Monday at the newly built Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Dinner is being served, and lunch is expected to start Tuesday. Executive chef Greg Stillman was executive chef at Pinot Blanc in Napa Valley. Architect Cesar Pelli designed the restaurant.

600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, (714) 429-7640.

* The Little Next Door, the gourmet deli that is an extension of the Little Door restaurant, opened last week. Unlike the Little Door, with its discreet, tucked-away doorway, the deli’s bright blue spot on 3rd Street can’t be missed. Bread and pastries are baked in a partially open kitchen; in the deli case are salads and tiny tea sandwiches such as chicken thigh with onion confit and harissa or Basque cheese with pomegranate seeds. Wines by the glass are served.

8142 W. 3rd St., West Hollywood, (323) 951-1010.