Restaurant Denied Permit for Alcohol

The owners of a popular restaurant and entertainment center said they plan to move their business out of San Fernando after the City Council voted 3 to 2 Monday to accept an appeal by anti-alcohol activists denying them a permit to sell beer and wine.

Yakov Ergas, part-owner of the Big Red pizza parlor and children’s video arcade at 1245 San Fernando Road, said that without the permit--which had been granted by the city Planning Commission in December--he will not be able to stay in business.

“This is crucial for our business,” Ergas told the council. “Denying us a beer and wine license is denying us the tools to fight for our survival.”

About two dozen employees and youths associated with the San Fernando Valley Partnership, which filed the appeal, turned out for the meeting. They praised the council’s decision, saying the Planning Commission overstepped its bounds by granting the permit.

A majority of the council members agreed. They pointed to a provision in the city’s liquor ordinance that bars alcohol sales by businesses with electronic arcade games. Because of the commission’s oversight, the council also agreed to refund a $580 appeal fee to the Valley Partnership.

The council’s split vote reflected divisions within San Fernando over the liquor license ordinance. Many residents and business owners have been calling for loosening the law to allow more restaurants to sell alcohol.

Passed in 1993 and considered one of the toughest in the state, the ordinance was designed to crack down on alcohol-related crime. Its supporters contend that it has done just that, but critics say that the ordinance goes too far.

Despite pleas from Mayor Raul Godinez II that the city could not afford to alienate valuable members of its business community, a majority of council members Monday said that giving Big Red a permit would open the floodgates for more businesses to sell alcohol.

Although the council members unanimously agreed that Big Red is an asset to the city, the majority said that they could not approve the permit under current law.

The Planning Commission is considering a plan to loosen the ordinance in the downtown business area.