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April 7, 2010

1515 Restaurant can stay open until 1 a.m.

The City Council voted 4 to 1 to allow 1515 Restaurant and Lounge to keep its 1 a.m. closing time, despite concerns raised by city staff and the police department about late-night incidents that required police response.



The council’s decision came after son and father owners Tony and Jack Dudum spoke about the value their North Main Street establishment brings to downtown. “We’ve tried best to obey the rules,” Tony Dudum said. “We are a destination, one of the premiere spots of the city.”


Family members, friends, and regular customers also came out on a Tuesday, “away from American Idol” and “family," Tony Dudum said, to sing the praises of the Dudums and 1515.


The City Council allowed the Dudums to stay open until 1 a.m. for a six-month probationary period. City staff wanted that closing time to be rolled back to 12:30 a.m. In their report, staff said the restaurant didn’t do well enough to be granted the 1 a.m. closing time permanently. There were eight incidents requiring a police response. These incidents include an assault, two thefts, someone being arrested on a warrant, another patron being arrested for public drunkenness, and the restaurant's valet parking cars in handicapped spaces. In February, 1515 employees were caught drinking in the back of the restaurant.


At Tuesday’s meeting, Chief Joel Bryden suggested that these types of incidents are typical of downtown bars and restaurants that stay open late. He said that these types of incidents are more of what you’ll find at a bar, where the chief service is to serve alcohol, not a restaurant, where food is the focus.


He added that 1515 does do a good job running its business. His department’s concern about letting 1515 stay open until 1 a.m. instead of 12:30 is that there will be “30 more minutes of potential problems that we in the police department are going to have to deal with.”


Lt. Mark Covington said the police department is at its limit in the number of calls they can handle among the downtown’s late-night bar scene. “We can’t deal with any more additional calls.”


The Dudums and their supporters complained that they were being singled out and “set up for failure.” Some even suggested that officers were showing at the restaurant at random times and making customers feel uncomfortable.


This debate about 1515 comes as the city wrestles with how to balance public safety and against the desire to encourage commerce in Walnut Creek and to keep the downtown a happening Bay Area destination for dining and entertainment.


Four of the council members voted to allow 1515 to stay open until 1 a.m. They said the didn’t want to unfairly penalize for 1515 for violations that may be just as common or more common at other establishments. They also didn’t want to roll back the business’ hours at this one establishment when the results of an Alcohol Task Force study on the downtown bar scene is pending.

Councilman Kish Rajan said: "I fully appreciate the needs of our police department and am committed to improving the environment downtown to support them in their mission. In my view, that is best achieved by looking at the downtown as a whole, and our overall alcohol/ closing time policies. We need a clearer set of policies that better balance the needs of our police with our desire for a successful business climate"


Only Councilman Bob Simmons said he would not support the 1 a.m. closing time. This is because, he said, back in September, the police department presented a list of incidents at 1515 that required police response. The council’s position was zero-tolerance and that 1515 shouldn’t return after the probationary period “with another sheet of incidents" He added: "Tonight we have more.”


He also objected to supporters’ claims that some of the incidents were “not so bad.” I reject that notion,” he said. “We want the city to be known as a safe place for people to come and enjoy.”

19 comments:

Masterlock said...

I think Tony's a good guy and it is important to keep 1515 open late so we can find the Turlock cougars easily.

Anonymous said...

Bob Simmons is correct in his thinking and congratulations to him for his vote.

Once again we see the toothless City County backing down from their own standards when it comes to potential revenue to try to keep the town afloat.(and we all know why the coffers are empty)

If Mr. Dudum is so positive that 1515 is a 'destination' why doesn't he pay for the Downtown Business Association's plans for promotion? What an ego!

Mo said...

Last night's meeting was like a trial. It was the mistakes made by the council (different closing times for upstairs/downstairs) and police (not telling 1515 of their mistakes) vs the testimony of 1515 (Dudum family and about 20 public speakers). In the end, the proper judgment was made.

Anonymous said...

Amazing that so many people came out to support 30 extra minutes for a closing time. Why can't we get that same support and passion for something like an education parcel tax or bond? It was truly special to see so many come out to support this restaurant.

Anonymous said...

Isn't free enterprise great?

Anonymous said...

Nice to see one council member vote NO. So rare in WC where the Chamber of Commerce dominates

Anonymous said...

Perfect. When the library opens I can stay there until it closes and head over to 1515 and stay until 1am.

They went through the process and I get an extra 30mins to have a drink.

Anonymous said...

I hope those valet resources learned a lesson regarding parking those cars in handicapped spots!

Anonymous said...

Oh man 12:30 to 1:00 is prime cougar hunting time. I'm going to be getting me some old woman booty now.

Yee HAW!

Anonymous said...

The Dudum's are slimeballs. Good for Simmons for supporting public safety. With the city cutting the police budget we residents want cops in our neighborhoods-not babysitting drunks. The city's priorities are all wrong. When's the next election?

Anonymous said...

They came out to support 1515 because they owe the Dudum's something or want something from them. It's just like today's dirty political environment.

Anonymous said...

April 8th - 4:24,

The next election is this November. There are two council members up for re-election, Rainey and Silva.

Be sure to watch their campaign finance reports to see how much the Dudum family contributes to each one.

Anonymous said...

Cindy Silva must go. Total egotistical witch. Time for some new councilmembers.

Anonymous said...

Glad to see that Councilman Simmons showed some concern for residents. It's hard to believe that the council would override the concerns of the police on this one.

How many police are left to patrol the neighborhoods between midnight and 2:00AM? It would be interesting to know what percentage of our police force are needed downtown between those hours.

Anonymous said...

THIS IS NO SURPRISE. Go look at the council members campaign donations, Dudum's all over giving the max donation to each and every council member so they basically have bought the council members. They are all in bed together. Sad, SAD, SAD.

Anonymous said...

Where do you go to access information on campaign donations?

Anonymous said...

I cannot believe that the council voted to support a business at the expense of the safety of 60,000 plus residents of the city! Didn't they hear the police lieutenant say they did not have the capacity to support the extended hours?! I am voting "NO" on Silva for sure. Kudos to Bob Simmons for his logical stance.

Anonymous said...

Interesting politics for sure. I wonder, what is more important, getting the backing from the police or the backing of the Dudums? Campaign signs can be placed in Dudum establishments. Money can come from both the police or the Dudums. What advantage is it to gain more from? Police or Dudums?

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