by Laura Garber
Hermosa Beach Police Chief Landon Phillips proposed prohibiting “single-serve” alcohol sales at Roberts Liquor on Pier Plaza, and to reduce the store’s business hours from 2 a.m. to midnight during a hearing before the Hermosa Beach Planning Commission Tuesday night, October 21.
The Planning Commissioners voted to continue the hearing on the store’s Conditional Use Permit (CUP) until its December 16, meeting to allow time for the Hermosa Police Department to respond to a public records request from the store’s attorney, Kit Bobko, a former Hermosa Beach Councilmember.
Chief Phillips said Roberts liquor had been cited three times since 2024 for alleged sales to minors. “But there’s more to this story,” Chief Phillips said. “During operations over the last two years, many times, people who are committing urinating in public, open-container, and drunk in public are telling our officers, or our officers have observed that they purchased their alcohol at [Roberts Liquor.]”
“We’re not blaming any one business, we all know the owner, operators and employees of Roberts Liquor, they’re great people,” Chief Phillips said. “But there are conditions of their current CUP that allow this to happen and allow it to continue to contribute to the problems of our City.”
The staff report said the liquor store does not comply with two CUP conditions related to “adversely affecting the welfare of residents and/or commercial businesses nearby,” and “providing adequate management supervisory techniques to prevent loitering, unruliness, and boisterous activities of the patrons outside the business or immediate area.”
The staff report recommended the Changes of Approval (COAs) include requiring the store to close by midnight, prohibiting the sale of “single-serve” containers and bottles, implementing the use of electronic ID verification, and requiring employees and manager to complete LEAD (Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs) training.
American Junkie doorman Samuel Prosser spoke in favor of Robert’s Liquor’s current hours, noting that public intoxication on Pier Avenue couldn’t be attributed to Roberts Liquor.
“People on the Pier tend to bring the problems with them. I’ve seen problems come from the Pier, I’ve seen problems come to the Pier. So long as there are seven bars along the Pier, there are going to be problems, no matter who’s staffing them,” he said.
Prosser said Roberts Liquor’s late hours allow him to purchase food after late shifts at American Junkie.
According to HBPD, undercover officers observed minors exiting Roberts Liquors with open containers of alcohol. The minors had purchased the beverages with fraudulent IDs.
Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) detectives conducted undercover investigations on April 5, 2024 and again August 8-9, 2025 for off-sale of alcohol to minors.
ABC Agent Connolly, whose first name and image were withheld during the Planning Commission livestream to protect his identity, said the business had not properly looked at youthful looking people’s IDs for an adequate amount of time.
“There’s no way you can do it in five seconds,” he said. “The IDs now are so much better than when I started 25 years ago.”
For second-time, minor-related infractions, businesses can be issued a $12,000 citation or be closed for 25 days, according to Agent Connolly.
Jan Nguyen who spoke on behalf of Robert’s Liquor owner Dung Tran, emphasized Robert’s Liquor’s role in the community, citing how she met her former HBPD husband while working there. Nguyen also said the first and only time in 2024 Roberts Liquor was cited for serving alcohol to a minor unknowingly, they paid the fine.
Nguyen claimed the 2025 investigations by HBPD and ABC were not entirely reported.
“Instead of warning patrons not to drink in public and that undercover officers are giving citations, it turns out Roberts Liquor was the true target,” Nguyen said.
“You are tip-toeing along the precipice of disaster right now,” attorney Bobko told Planning Commissioners. “You cannot revoke property rights based on innuendo or anecdotal evidence.”
He mentioned there were prospective Roberts Liquor buyers in the City Chambers.
“Let the people who want to sell the business, sell the business without a cloud hanging over them,” he said.
Planning Commissioner Stephen Izant asked Nguyen what percentage of sales come from midnight to 2 a.m. sales. Nguyen estimated that on weekends and holidays, roughly 25% of sales come during that time frame.
“I’m not sure that the two formal incidents, and the one that occurred, but has not been formalized by ABC rise to the occasion of impacting 25% of their sales,” Commissioner Izant said.
“I think there sounds like there’s alignment on our side where it’s a little premature for action and I would be in support of continuing this until the public records request has been satisfied,” Planning Chairperson, Kate Hirsh said. ER
