Hotel Cecil Applies for Liquor License
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
A boutique hotel-in-a-hotel, Stay launched in June of 2008 as a hybrid hotel / youth hostel.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Since launching Stay, the boutique hotel-hostel hybrid now running on three floors of the Hotel Cecil, operator Lanting Hotel Group has been busy. On the hotel's ground floor they've opened Arty, an art gallery space, Marty, a convenience store.
Now the hotel's transformation attempt is in for its biggest test. The company has applied for a Conditional Use Permit allowing the sale of a full line of alcohol for on-site use in Tuck, a restaurant space currently under construction, and in room service to the hotel.
Liquor sales have been a controversial subject in the Historic Core due to its proximity to Skid Row. In mid-2007, Kor Group applied for a series of permits for ground floor spaces in the Santa Fe Lofts, just a block up the street from the Hotel Cecil. Assistant Zoning Administrator Daniel Green, now retired, denied the requests, citing a laundry list of concerns. The Central Area Planning Commission later overturned the denials, but the process of approval was long and onerous.
The Hotel Cecil's history may also work against it. The hotel is listed on the Los Angeles Housing Department's list of residential hotels, placing restrictions on its potential uses. The owners of the Cecil have sued the city to get that designation removed. As of mid-2008, two floors of the hotel were occupied by long-term residential tenants.
A hearing on the application will be held on Monday, January 26, at 2pm in City Hall room 1050. The application asks for the right to sell alcohol between 7am and 1am, Sunday through Thursday, with 7am to 2am service on Friday and Saturday.
fauxy brown on January 06, 2009, at 11:34PM – #1
How ironic. The city will blame the Cecil for the alchoholic abuses in the area, but won't let the Cecil evict the alcoholics who dwell there. Where's Mike Hernandez when you need him?
Russell Brown on January 07, 2009, at 09:47AM – #2
The request has been modified to beer and wine only for the restaurant with food service. No off site sales. Terms are being negotiated with LAPD and the council office.
benjamin on January 07, 2009, at 03:46PM – #3
cities should alway have discretions on issuing Liquor Licenses.
Susana on January 08, 2009, at 08:02AM – #4
"cities should alway have discretions on issuing Liquor Licenses"
Why? I thought we lived in a capitalist society. DO you realize that "cities" mean a bunch of bureaucrats that decide who gets what based mostly on the mood of the day? City of LA can be notoriously slow and hinder business growth instead of stimulating economic development. I'm so tired of the "baby-sitter" policies that the city continues to implement in order to generate revenue. Ugh!