No buzz about it

Mathis Winkler

LIDO MARINA VILLAGE -- Creating some buzz for his new restaurant,

that’s what Randy Teffeteller is all about.

Pointing out such things as a 20-foot great white shark that hangs

over the bar, old black and white photos of Newport Beach that will adorn

the walls and a yellow English taxi that sits outside the building,

Teffeteller gladly gives visitors a tour of the Newport Fish Co., which

will open Monday.

But he also takes care to point out that his new seafood restaurant

will have nothing to do with its predecessor, the Buzz restaurant.

“We were brought in to close Buzz,” Teffeteller said Wednesday. “We

weren’t really part of that.”

While that may be the case, Teffeteller pleaded with planning

commissioners in November to keep Buzz open. He didn’t succeed, and

commissioners revoked the restaurant’s use permit, saying that Buzz

officials had changed the establishment’s layout without city permission.

Teffeteller appealed the revocation to City Council members, who on

June 12 decided to appoint a hearing officer. That person will conduct a

meeting on the issue and make recommendations to council members. A date

for the hearing hasn’t been set.

In the meantime, Teffeteller said city officials gave him some time to

open the new restaurant while he’s working on amendments to the use

permit that he’ll submit in the near future.

“As long as we’re top operators, we should be fine,” he said.

City Atty. Bob Burnham said city and Newport Fish Co.officials are

discussing an agreement that would allow the restaurant to operate for a

limited time under a use permit that’s already in place. Such an

agreement may be in place by Monday, but Burnham added that the

revocation hearing would still proceed as planned.

Planning Commissioner Mike Kranzley, who has led the fight to prevent

new alcohol licenses on Balboa Peninsula, where alcohol-related crimes

are higher than in any other part of the city, said he didn’t know much

about Teffeteller’s plans.

But as long as the new restaurant falls within the use permit’s

guidelines, “there is no problem,” Kranzley said, adding that he’d check

out the place soon.

“I love restaurants,” he said. “If it’s good fish, good food, it’s

great.”

The new restaurant’s design, which follows a tropical theme and

includes a waterfall cascading over faux stones behind the bar, does make

the place look more like a dining rather than nightclubbing

establishment.

A retail area, which includes a fresh seafood counter and a gift shop,

will also add to the theme-restaurant atmosphere.

The menu includes shrimp buckets and lobster cakes for appetizers and

entrees such as “Maui Kabob” and “Tequila BBQ New York steak,” most of

which stay below $20.

During the week, Teffeteller plans to stay open until about 11 p.m.,

extending hours to 2 a.m. on weekends. He’ll also serve lunch all week

and breakfast on weekends. A champagne brunch is planned for Sundays.

Nearby merchants said they were pleased with Teffeteller’s plans.

Britt -- “No last name, just like Cher or Madonna” -- who designs

fashion and accessories and has a store next to the restaurant, said she

welcomed the change.

“It will only create more business,” said Britt, who is married to

former City Council candidate Dennis Lahey. “I wish them the very best.

If [the restaurant] has a pulse, the rest of the village will have a

pulse.”

Edie Calvetti, who works at another fashion store in the village,

agreed.

“We’ve had a lot of bad experiences with the restaurant down there,”

she said, adding that The Warehouse restaurant, Buzz’s predecessor, had

drawn huge crowds that also stopped by other shops.

“I can’t wait for them to open,” Calvetti said. “This area needs walk

traffic. We pay a lot of rent, and you have to have a lot of merchandise

turnover or you’re gone.”