Opening a restaurant and bar in downtown Fullerton used to be so easy.
Now fights, drunkenness, vandalism and other headaches that come with the nightlife business have led the city to put stricter rules on the restaurants and bars that are a big draw to its downtown.
The North County college town has some 50 restaurants and bars on and around Harbor Boulevard. Many turn into late-evening nightclubs, which bring in people from Orange and Los Angeles counties as well as the Inland Empire.
For more than a year, city officials have struggled to get a grip on downtown’s raging nightlife, which has brought higher police costs and complaints from residents and business owners.
Last year, Fullerton spent nearly $1 million on policing and cleaning up downtown. This year, the city estimates it will have to spend $1.6 million on public safety and trash services just for downtown.
In April, a new ordinance brought stricter rules for new and existing restaurants and bars. New businesses have to apply for permits if they want to operate primarily as bars and nightclubs. The city also can restrict their hours.
For new as well as existing restaurants, happy hours now have to end at 7 p.m., something designed to keep bars from packing in people at all hours with the lure of cheap drinks.
And all businesses have to adhere to the city’s lighting standards and improve security by hiring licensed, uniformed security guards.
To limit noise, businesses now are prohibited from having amplified music on outdoor patios. Lines to get into crowded bars are limited to 25 people.
Penalties for violations include criminal citations, civil action from the city attorney or revoked licenses.
Some restaurant and bar owners are unhappy with the new rules, though many are reluctant to complain too loudly. Most say they’ll do what they have to. A few welcome a uniform set of rules.
“It’s important to have rules,” said John Sanchez, owner and founder of Envy Ultra Lounge.
Sanchez, who started his upscale restaurant and bar last year, said he welcomes the rules despite challenges like limiting the number of people waiting in line.
“I don’t know if the city completely understands what it’s like to run a business, but we are all in agreement that something needs to be done with the clientele the city is bringing in,” Sanchez said.
Downtown has had problems with unruly people, Sanchez said. He tries to keep raucous customers out by keeping his prices high, he said.
Cocktails at Envy go for $8 to $14, which helps attract a classier crowd, according to Sanchez.
At the other end is Revoluci & #243;n Mexican Grill & Cantina. It opened in 2003 and is a late night hotspot with $1 and $2 beers and hip-hop and reggaeton music.
Alberto Ochoa, founder and owner of Revoluci & #243;n, said he supports the rules but worries about the potential costs they bring.
Complying with Fullerton’s ordinance and coping with the rising cost of food, rent, insurance, energy and labor will take more time and money, Ochoa said.
Cutting happy hour short could squeeze profits, he said. And hiring more licensed security guards and putting in lights to comply with city standards is costly, according to Ochoa.
But he said he’s willing to comply nonetheless.
“I don’t have a big corporation backing me,” Ochoa said. “I’m a small-business owner. I don’t agree with all of the items (in the ordinance). But if it’s going to help us run legitimately, I think it’s a good idea.”
Newcomers
The rules have been tough for new businesses, which didn’t cause the problems that brought them.
“Whatever the city wants us to do we’ll do it just to keep the area a safe place,” said DeLayne Bond, owner of Bourbon Street Bar & Grill.
Bond opened her Louisiana-style restaurant about two months ago but has been planning her business for nearly two years. She bypassed a temporary city ban on new hard liquor licenses last year by buying a license from The Rail Restaurant, which used to occupy Bourbon Street’s space on Commonwealth Avenue.
Other newcomers haven’t had it so easy.
Cherch Lounge got caught in last year’s ban on hard liquor licenses, which since has been lifted with the new rules in place.
Founders Nicholas Lombardo and Joseph Hartman approached the city last September with plans to open an upscale, American fusion restaurant with art exhibitions and live music, comedy and fashion shows.
Lombardo said he and his partner were encouraged by the City Council’s enthusiasm for Cherch’s concept but was disappointed when the company fell under the ban.
The owners bought an existing license for about $37,000 and then opted to sell it for a little more than $36,000 while they waited for the city to come out with its new rules, Lombardo said.
“I understand and agree with the city and its moratorium,” Lombardo said. “Unfortunately we paid the price. But time healed our situation.”
Cherch is under construction, taking the place of an heirloom shop. In the meantime, the owners said they plan to apply for all of the necessary permits to allow them to have hard liquor and entertainment at their 5,000-square-foot restaurant on the corner of Harbor and Commonwealth.
“We’re going to do everything we can to comply,” Lombardo said. “We want to open the right way.”
Businesses that have a hard time complying with the city’s ordinance could opt to sell, said Cameron Irons, president of the Downtown Fullerton Restaurant Association and a broker with Fullerton-based real estate owner Vanguard Investment Properties.
“We’ll see some of the owners who can’t find a way to operate under the new code may find it more profitable to sell,” said Irons, who started and sold downtown’s Rockin’ Taco Cantina and is working to open a strip mall of small eateries in the area.
People still are looking for restaurant and retail space downtown, despite the new rules and the slowing economy, Irons said.
“There’s been a constant climb in demand for space around downtown Fullerton since 2000,” he said. “There’s just a lot more tenants than there is space.”
Rents Up
The demand for restaurant space has fueled rents of $2.50 to $3.50 per square foot, depending on the space and if the landlord has paid for tenant improvements, Irons said.
It’s a far cry from the downtown of more than 20 years ago, then a gloomy strip of vacancies and pawnshops.
Downtown’s transformation started in the 1990s when the city began restoring the area’s old buildings and the first restaurants and bars opened.
The area saw a big boost when the city passed a 2002 ordinance that allowed restaurant and bar owners to open without obtaining special permits. That led many to come in as restaurants only to focus on bar and nightclub operations.
The new rules aren’t intended to drive out bars and nightclubs, which have been a boost to the city, said Shawn Nelson, the city’s former mayor and current council member.
Operators just need to be upfront about how their businesses are run, he said.
“We just want everyone to be on the same page,” Nelson said. “The whole objective is to try to get clear rules in place to make it easier for people to operate their businesses.”
Adding Homes to the Mix
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Bourbon Street Bar & Grill: bought existing liquor license to get around 2007 ban |
Downtown Fullerton has the restaurants, bars and people. Now what it needs is a broader mix, according to some city watchers.
One of the few condominium and stores projects moving ahead in the county is set to go before Fullerton’s Planning Commission this week.
The $90 million project calls for 124 condominiums, 40,000-square-feet of commercial space and a six-level underground parking structure. It would bring homeowners and more shops alongside Fullerton’s bustling restaurant row.
Newport Beach’s John Laing Homes and Huntington Beach-based Pelican Properties are pursuing the project, despite initial setbacks with city approvals and the slumping housing market.
The companies don’t expect construction to start until 2010.
“Hopefully the real estate market will be back up by that time,” Pelican Properties spokesman Richard Hamm said.
Pelican and John Laing have been planning Amerige Court for nearly three years and have had to revise their plans over concerns about building height, parking and impact on neighboring businesses.
The goal is to attract people who want to live, work, shop and eat in downtown Fullerton, Hamm said. The project, would include a public plaza with landscaping, benches and fountains.
Amerige Court’s commercial space could be used for stores and office space.
Condos could sell from $450,000 to $1.5 million, according to Hamm.
“We wanted to be somewhere that had a lot of character,” Hamm said. “We’ve seen an awful lot of interest from homebuyers who want to live in downtown Fullerton because it’s a fun place.”
The project could be part of a fix to problems that have come from a concentration of restaurants and bars downtown.
“There is a problem with some of the bars in the area but it’s our opinion that by putting this project in, it will help clean up the problem,” Hamm said. “We see this being a positive thing for the city.”
Cameron Irons, a broker with Fullerton-based real estate owner Vanguard Investment Properties, said he agrees.
“Whenever you have a development like that, it makes things a lot more diverse and friendly,” Irons said.
An influx in families and professionals should foster a calmer vibe, he said. It could also boost retail businesses around the area, Irons said.
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Jessica C. Lee
