We’ve been following the progress of several local liquor permit applications that have been making their way through the city approval process for the last few months. Here are updates on three cases we’ve written about in the past, which all had Zoning Administrator hearings on July 21:
Gon Ji Am Restaurant
4653½ Beverly Blvd.
ZA-2019-6809-CUB
The Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council’s Land Use Committee reviewed this application for a renewal of the Gon Ji Am restaurant’s permit to sell beer and wine back in January, and voted at that time to oppose the request until the owners did some outreach to adjacent neighbors to gauge their support. The GWNC board voted in Feburary to support the LUC recommendation to oppose the application, pending neighborhood outreach, but the restaurant’s representatives did not return for further discussions after that.
At the city’s July 21 Zoning Administrator hearing, the application was approved.
Target
415 S. La Brea Ave.
ZA-2020-1919-CUB
This new Target store, in what used to be the old Orchard Supply Hardware site on La Brea, is scheduled to open on August 16. The application was for the sale and dispensation of a full line of alcoholic beverages at a “retail/pharmacy establishment.” At the July 21 city hearing, according to a report from City Council District 4 Planning Deputy Emma Howard, the Zoning Administrator ruled that they are “inclined to approve,” the application but are also “taking the case under advisement to provide more time for the [Mid City West Community Council] to submit any official positions and recommendations.”
Cat and Fiddle Restaurant
742 N. Highland Ave.
ZA-2004-6850-CUB-PA3
The well-known pub and restaurant has been open in its current Highland Ave. location since 2016. Last year, the owners applied for a renewal of its permit to sell a full line of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption, as well as an extension of its hours from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., to allow for more special events (particularly Sunday morning broadcasts of international soccer matches). The GWNC Land Use Committee, at its September and November meetings, held lengthy discussions of the application with the applicants and nearby neighbors, who advocated for better noise mitigations for the facility’s outdoor patio. In the end, the Land Use Committee did recommend support for the application to the full GWNC Board, which voted unanimously to support the application in December. Since then, Cat and Fiddle co-owner Ashlee Gardner told the Buzz yesterday, the application has also won the support of City Council District 4 and the LAPD. At the July 21 Zoning Administrator hearing however, the noise abatement issue was raised again, and the case was continued for at least three months, to allow additional time to resolve “questions around acoustics of live entertainment.”
