Restaurant’s equipment repossessed, but still open

Newport Beach police officers arrived outside the Blanca restaurant Wednesday morning as employees from two companies came to repossess kitchen items they said the restaurant hadn’t sufficiently paid for.

About a dozen people from Chefs’ Toys, a food service equipment maker, and Hospitality Equipment Fabricators, which provides custom stainless steel, entered the restaurant about 10 a.m. and began removing plates, shelves and other items. According to Sgt. Mike James, an employee from Chefs’ Toys called police and asked them to stand outside the restaurant in case any conflict broke out, but the transition passed smoothly.

Jeffrey Grasso, Blanca’s the general manager, said the crews had taken more than three-quarters of his kitchen inventory.

“I think it’s a very simple situation that could have been handled so many other ways,” Grasso said.

He would not comment on whether the restaurant had paid for their equipment.

He said, though, that Blanca had a large number of reservations for Wednesday night. And it did open as usual.

— Michael Miller