For now, patrons of four-month-old restaurant Hotdoggers won’t be able to order a late-night beer with their topping-drenched, bacon-wrapped hotdog.
The Manhattan Beach Planning Commission denied restaurant owner Sandy Saemann’s request to serve beer and wine until 1 a.m. at Hotdoggers, after residents argued at length for and against the issue.
In a 3-1 vote, the commission upheld the use permit the City Council approved last summer, which allows the restaurant to serve beer and wine until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight on Friday and Saturday. Commissioner Paul Gross was the dissenting vote and Commissioner Steve Ortmann was absent.
While the owner of the restaurant wants to be able to serve alcohol past midnight, the commission and some Oak Avenue residents voiced concerns about the noise and traffic the move could generate.
Some residents worried that with alcohol, the restaurant would turn into a bar, but Saemann assured the crowd this wouldn’t happen. “We’re about food,” he said, adding that he wasn’t asking to install a bar, barstools or tap equipment. “I have no intentions of being a bar.”
But Commissioner Kathleen Paralusz noted that extended alcohol-serving times would be grandfathered in for the next tenant, should Saemann go out of business or choose to close the restaurant. “Hotdoggers could close tomorrow, business ‘X’ could come in and it could become a bar,” she said.
Saemann maintained he’d been a model tenant and invested more than $800,000 in the restaurant, which serves hotdogs slathered in dozens of toppings – chili, cheese, mac and cheese and bacon, to name a few. “It’s like someone saying, ‘Boy, you’ve been driving 60 years and never got a ticket but we want to restrict your license,’” Saemann said.
Many Oak Avenue residents had spoken at City Hall on this issue before. “We’re frustrated that we’re back here,” said resident Michael Lang.
Last year, Saemann had plans to build an outdoor patio. Due to the potential noise a patio could add, the City Council restricted beer and wine sales from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
Saemann chose not to operate under the use permit, and as a result, wasn’t able to serve beer and wine. Instead, he could stay open 24 hours a day. The restaurant was too big of an investment for the limited hours, he said. “I don’t want to close at 10 o’clock and I shouldn’t have to,” Saemann said.
When Saemann discovered the extra costs associated with the patio, he ditched the idea and applied to change the terms of his use permit. Now he’s looking to serve beer and wine to his customers until 1 a.m. “Therefore, less noise, less impact, less intensification,” he said.
Since Hotdoggers has not yet served alcohol, commissioners believe its impact on the community is unknown. “I think residents would like to see him operate under the existing use permit before granting any extensions,” said Community Development Director Richard Thompson. On Friday, Saemann appealed the Planning Commission’s decision, according to Thompson. The City Council will hear the case on September 4.
