Restaurant’s Permit for Dancing Revoked
La Estrella restaurant on North Brookhurst Street has lost its city permit for dancing and live music.
The city’s Planning Commission revoked the permit after it found that La Estrella was being operated more as a nightclub than a restaurant. Commissioners gave the restaurant owner 90 days to turn it around.
The restaurant’s permit to serve food and beverages was made good until March, when the commission will review it again.
Police and city officials said that the restaurant has been a nuisance to nearby residents who have complained about loud music, people drinking alcohol in the parking lot, fights, gunshots and screeching tires.
Rick A. Blake, an attorney representing the restaurant owner, said that security at the restaurant has been increased and that food sales have increased in recent months, making it a bona fide restaurant.
![LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 - Bertha Gomez, right, and her son David Gomez, the new owners of La Golondrina Cafe, stand inside the famed restaurant that remains closed on Olvera Street in El Pueblo de Los Angeles on September 28, 2023. The Gomez' have not been able to open the business because of a damaged sewer line into the building. La Golondrina Cafe]has been closed since March 2020. They are locked in a lawsuit with the city, because they claim that the city is responsible for the repairs, while the city argues otherwise. The Board of El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument Authority Commission on Thursday oversaw a hearing and decided that the Gomez' should be evicted from the location, nearly 95 years after the business first opened. The previous owners were the original family who started the business and it's considered one of the oldest Mexican restaurants in the city. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fc1b23c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6699x4480+10+0/resize/1024x685!/format/webp/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F44%2F88%2Fe2b72d1641ec8c2de63a02da4ef8%2F1353501-me-0928-la-golondrina-cafe-gem-001.jpg)
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