Editorial: Make beach café work

What a disappointment for beachgoers, after the concessionaire of the ill-fated Sand Café was effectively warned off a plan to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at Aliso Beach year round.

After spending the money to build a new snack bar/restroom facility farther from the water “” leaving more space open for sunbathers near the shoreline “” the county is apparently back to square one in finding an operator for the brand-new, never-opened eatery.

And the public is on the verge of again being denied a common and necessary beach amenity for the third year in a row.

The concessionaire, who signed on after a lengthy bureaucratic process, is ready to throw in the beach towel. And who can blame him? He has spent a life savings on a viable business plan only to have sand kicked in his face.

After announcing his opening in April, the doors are still locked, and the concessionaire is ready to back out. This happened after local activists “” who have the ear of the California Coastal Commission “” wagged their fingers at a county-approved plan to place tables on the sand and to store the tables in a shed near the restaurant.

Now the county has warned the operator that he stands little chance of getting approved by the Coastal Commission, given the local opposition.

This seems just plain mean-spirited and lacking in common sense, especially for two agencies “” the Beaches and Harbors Department and the Coastal Commission “” purportedly dedicated to providing public access to the coast.

Aliso Beach is the only truly accessible beach in Laguna; it’s the only place one can pull in and park, unload the kids, boogie boards and umbrellas, and not be in the midst of a residential neighborhood. As for Main Beach, it is hampered by a lack of parking “” or parking that is one-third of a mile or more away.

And providing food and beverages on the beach is a safety issue as well, because many people do not bring adequate provisions for a day at the beach.

They need sustenance at hand.

Surely the county and the Coastal Commission can find some way to accommodate the concessionaire’s well-thought out plan. There is simply no reason to deny the public the pleasure of having a meal served to them on the sand.