New Manhattan Beach restaurant, HotDoggers, brings late night hot dogs and beer to Sepulveda
Sandy Seaman, former co-owner of Brewski’s in Hermosa Beach, plans to open HotDoggers, a late-night beer, wine and hot dog joint. Photo by Andrea Ruse
Residents will soon have a new spot at which to grab late-night hot dogs and beer after the Manhattan Beach City Council Tuesday unanimously approved plans for a new restaurant on Sepulveda Boulevard.
Longtime resident and restaurateur Sandy Seaman planned to offer “rad dogs and California beach barbecue” 24 hours a day at HotDoggers, which will open in coming weeks in Manhattan Beach on the west side of Sepulveda at 17th Street – a location that has so far been home to three failed ventures.
And while some residents can’t wait to bite into one of Seaman’s dogs, the cost of round-the-clock food, beer and wine is too much for neighbors living nearby. Many expressed concern over noise, traffic and parking issues they fear would accompany an all-hours restaurant that serves alcohol.
“The residents are okay with hot dogs and ice cream all day long,” said resident LeiLani Kowal. “When he adds alcohol, it changes everything.”
Prior to the meeting, Seaman’s proposal, which also included an outdoor patio and an outdoor waiting area, underwent two rounds of review by the Manhattan Beach Planning Commission before coming to council. Seaman appealed to the council after the commission resolved to reduce HotDoggers’ hours of operation and alcohol service, as well as prohibit music being played on the outdoor patio.
After more than three hours of debate at Tuesday’s meeting, the council approved restaurant hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays, and of 7 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. However, council in the future may grant Seaman’s wish of a 24-hour hot dog, beer and wine joint if he can keep noise and traffic in the surrounding neighborhood under wraps.
Seaman pointed to several other businesses on the Sepulveda Corridor with permits allowing 24-hour service, such as Walgreens pharmacy, calling the council’s decision “selective” and insisting that the concept of HotDoggers is that of a restaurant, not a bar.
“Why is it that we are prohibited to get a hot dog at three in the morning, but not to go to Walgreens and get ice cream and cough syrup?” Seaman said. “This is really a biased decision.”
Many residents on nearby Oak Avenue feared an increase in traffic on their street from customers leaving HotDoggers and looking for an easy route to get back onto Sepulveda.
“We’re very protective about Oak,” said resident Victoria Kohn. “We’ve been trying very hard to make it more residential.”
To mitigate potential traffic, Seaman will be required to install a sign and a chain restricting access to Oak Avenue from the restaurant’s parking lot.
Seaman also agreed to forego outdoor areas, and instead suggested an enclosed patio to keep noise down. Designs for the new patio will go before council at a public hearing next month. However, the restaurant will be prohibited from providing outside waiting. ER