director of operations, have also been doing catering for a number of years for large functions. and they operate a side bakery business that operates at a lot of different farmers markets and a lot of wholesale. they took the facility over with the hopes of, again, bringing back the higher quality of food that that location has always been known for, as well as offering their patrons, their regular patrons, special events, so weddings, bar mitzvahs, anniversaries. we just celebrated my father's 90th birthday there with a late-afternoon lunch or dinner. and so the -- we fall under the code, we fall under needing to have a full entertainment license because they intend to operate more than -- i think it's 10 times a year probably,

and they would certainly operate beyond 10:00 p.m. so we're applying for the full license, but this is not going to be an ongoing open to the public nightclub. in fact, our landlords would be quite upset if it were. we're simply trying to follow all the guidelines that are required of us, have it there. they had a new year's eve events that went until 2:00 in the morning, which we did obtain a one-night permit forl. we also obtained a one-night permit for the old russian new year, which was on january 14. we want to make sure we're completely in compliance. >> commissioners? >> hello. i have a couple of questions. did you say you were just opening the restaurant or re-opening? >> well, the restaurant has been closed for nearly three years. it was stars, and then it was trader vick's, and trader vc --

vic's closed in 2009. >> this says you had two licenses prior. was that with a different theme or with maestro? >> it was with maestro. maestro took physical possession in mid october, and they spent quite a bit of time and money getting the facility up to date, meeting all the health and building code requirements. they weren't quite ready to open full bore yet, but in their tradition -- well, new year's eve for everyone is quite important. but in their tradition especially, old russian new year's eve are quite important. so they opened for just those two evens for entertainment purposes. they have had some small special events along the warkse but nothing that would have required a one-night entertainment permit. >> ok, thank you.

my second question is about security. do plan to do this in-house or are you hiring an outside group? >> for the events we will likely -- i think we put in the application that we were going to use jeff, but there's a friendship with armada protective services, so there's a bit of an amendment to the application or to the questionnaire -- two amendments, actually. one is that we have now obtained a liquor license. we had initially put that we were in the process of a person-to-person transfer. we now have a temporary license, and that's in place. and then secondly, instead of jeff cue chars, we're going to use armada. for special events we will contract them to come in. because most of these events are sit-down dinner catered affairs, effectively we'll have probably one to eight or one to 10 staffing ratio on the floor

who will also be charged with keeping an eye on patrons to make sure that they're not getting overly intoxicated or unruly. but given the types of events that these are, we've never really had a problem with that in their nearly decade of operating catered events. but we will also have the requisite two or three security -- actual security personnel there contracted for the evening. >> ok. i'm glad you mentioned that. the security are in charge of doing security, so the staff are not actually going to do that kind of job. >> absolutely. and also for maintaining the front. i think we're responsible for 50 feet in any direction, for maintaining that as well. you're not going to want a waiter running outside to keep an eye on people. >> thank you. >> i had a question. i know this is limited to special events.

so how frequent are they? in a given month, let's say. >> i think at this point, from what we can gauge, we're probably thinking two a month, because we do truly want to focus on this being a restaurant. and we don't want to have too much crossover. they'll probably be relegated to sunday evenings or maybe thursday evenings. they will not be open to the public. and so if i had to guess, a couple of dozen a year is kind of what we think at this point. >> maybe a question for staff. if we were to permit this, is there potential for them to extend beyond special events, like they just have the right to be able to do a nightclub, if they were to change out their business plan and model, is that right? >> it depends on what conditions you put on it in terms of hours and days. >> ok. but if we don't put conditions, then technically they would

have that right. >> the default hours and days of the police code would apply. >> ok, thank you. >> if i might, though, our lease specifically states that we cannot have a nightclub or dance hall. it would be a violation of our lease. >> with the landlord? >> with the landlord. and the landlord -- well, the two landlords are joseph betts from house of prime rib and judge kramer. so i think we'd be facing quite the uphill battle if we tried to play games, so -- >> ok, yes. >> have you met with any local neighborhood associations or other groups concerning your proposed use of the premises? >> no. >> ok. you realize that any business going into a neighborhood becomes part of the neighborhood fabric, and that most of our complaints would be from neighbors. i know there's not a lot around

there, but i still think no is probably not a good answer, that there would definitely -- i think there definitely needs to be outreach to neighborhood organizations. >> understood. we have started a soft opening of the cafe, of the pa tease rethat is in the -- pa teasery that in his the business and have been speaking to neighbors and local business people as they come in. honestly, we originally prepared the application in mid december. didn't actually submit it until, i think, very early february. and it was our intent t to do that, but we've been so focused on just the uphill climb of getting the facilities ready to open full-time that certainly we're remiss in doing that, and we agree. it was not our intention to overlook it. but there's only so much bandwidth and certainly not -- you're right, not a

good-neighbor policy. >> i have a bunch of stuff. so as far as like somebody wants to have a party at your restaurant, are you going to shut down to the public? are you going to have like a banquet room open for your function and regular dining open in another section? >> we have a small -- two small banquet rooms as a part of the facility. at this point i don't believe that -- there hasn't been p call for that. most of the catered events that we do, where we anticipate a portion of entertainment, are going to be weddings and other life events. so we don't anticipate, you know, closing off a piece of the restaurant and having a bachelor party, let's say, something that could get raucous and a lot of noise, because we're going to be

operating a restaurant. so primarily when we do these events -- and we anticipate them being large' vents -- we will be closed to the general public and only to either invited guests or, let's say, in the case of new year's eve, for instance, tickets might be sold. but generally speaking, even the people that we've sold tickets to are longtime patrons that have known svetlana and stella a long time. >> basically stars was really, you know, a great place. there was a lot of food and the chevys there. that corridor now, it's very difficult for restaurants. i think with the entertainment part it would help, but when commissioner hyde was saying that you should reach out, it's like when you have a new year's eve party there's no place to park, and you're going to be double parking, valet and all this kind of stuff. we kind of like to have the

feedback from the neighborhood to see whether or not it's ok. i think we all want food business in that area to be back the way it was. i mean, i'm wishing, you know, great success for your restaurant. i just want to make sure when you say special events only -- i mean, you could shut down your operations and turn your -- what's your capacity? >> i think it's 209. >> 209. that's a lot of people if you're going to shut it down. sometimes you listen to the client's wishes. i mean, in general it's not -- right now it's not maybe on the radar for most people that want to rent it. but once you get going, you will get a lot of requests. >> i acknowledge that's probably -- that's probably very true and it's certainly one of the reasons that the owners wanted a larger

facility, is so that they can cater to a portion of their business where they were going out and maybe delivering food on a catering business to a catering venue. they've been doing this for a decade. they have a large book of clients. whatever event will be there will be food oriented, so it's not -- again, it's not going to be bringing in a band, for instance, and opening the doors to 200 people to come in and drink and listen to rock music or whatever. it's there specifically for -- that band or that deejay is there as an event band. >> and the screening process for people that want to rent your place, do you have a certain policy or how do you screen out people that want to use your facility? >> i wouldn't say that there's a specific policy necessarily, but the difference is that it's

people that are coming for the food and to hold an event there. so it's not -- it's not the sort of thing where a promoter might come in and want to rent the club and they've taken it over for the night. they're there organizing a menu, organizing a series of events that will take place that evening specifically around -- and, again, these ladies have been in business for over a decade doing catering. and they had a restaurant in burlingame. they just closed to move here. a smaller capacity. it was 55 people, i think. and they had plenty of events there without complaint. >> well, basically i think having entertainment there is going to be great. but, again, caution to -- people say they're going to have a birthday party and next thing you know, you don't even know these people showing up.

so i think with that, you know, sounds like they really want to do the food, and i think in that neighborhood stars was a really nice place. >> all right. well, i was going to say that i've been to stars many times, trader vic's, and that whole civic center area is really in need of something along these lines. as far as a restaurant, i think the concerns about who's going to come in there, i think, which adds several layers of legitimacy is that they have to commit to a dinner party, right? so it's not just like somebody's coming in with a bring your own cake. so i think from a restaurant standpoint the focus is a legitimate restaurant and not just turning this over to a bachelor party. i mean, people don't go and have -- at least i never went to a bachelor party where they had a catered dinner, you know. >> that's right. >> so i think if there's --

well, maybe we should hear from the -- did you want to say anything, ms. poryes? >> it's hard for me to say something. >> quell, that's what we >> well, that's what we wanted to hear. is there anybody from -- commissioner? >> as a neighborhood representative it's important for me that everybody who comes here does their due diligence in doing community outreach. so i'm really kind of concerned that you haven't done that, and it might be hard for me to support this particular application at this time because you haven't done that. although i really support you as a business owner. i just want to ask the staff, is it mandatory requirement to do a community outreach? >> so a notice is required to be posted. that's what the letter of the law says.

and obviously when we meet with people we let them know that they should be prepared to go beyond that, because you just never know who's going to -- for at least the self-interest reason of never knowing who's going to come out of the woodwork. as we all know, somebody might come and speak against this application who lives 10 blocks against that, you want to get the support of neighbors when you can. so we do encourage that. we did in this case. although i will say i think you're all familiar with the space. this is a pretty barren neighborhood. there's not that many people to reach out to. >> but if we make an exception this time, then we can't exempt anybody else, if we start not allowing people to have a community outreach, then we're free to do the same with other people. >> commissioner perez, i think your point's very well taken,

except i have to support what i'm just looking at the block -- and i may be wrong -- but that entire block of golden gate, i don't believe on either side is any residential. and behind it is the state building, or the courthouse, and to the north would be the state building, and, you know, you'd be hard-pressed -- the only thing that immediately comes to mind -- and i've spent a lot of time down there -- would be at mcallister and van ness, there is one apartment building, but that's, you know, a good block away. i don't think they -- and in terms of parking concerns your a short walk to a parking garage, so you'd have street parking that isn't readily available, that would be certainly right there. so, i mean, we could delay it, but i just don't think -- >> well, they're required to

post for 30 days anyway, right? >> yeah. >> i mean, they posted, got their 30 days? >> more than 30 days. so unless we have public comment right now against it, i mean, there's plenty of time for somebody to weigh out, you know. >> and -- >> there was no aggressive outreach, but i don't think this would serve as a -- you know, like breaking down our procedure, because there's just -- in my estimation -- i want to hold back until we have an opportunity to hear from the public, if there's anybody here. but to my knowledge, there's really not much, if anything, down there in terms of something that they would run amiss with. we can have more commissioner comment. is there anybody here from the public that would like to address this issue? yes, sir. >> may i add one thingst >> oh, yeah. >> just for the record, three things. i haven't received any

communication, calls or emails supporting them. i haven't received any against them either. and northern station has jurisdiction here, and they have no objection to the permit. >> ok. yes. >> if i may. so i just want to be really clear that i spent a lot of time at the neighborhood groups in the tenderloin and just because there are no neighbors immediately there, the entire neighborhood fabric is what we're taking into consideration. and i'm not saying that it seems like this permit is actually a good thing, but i would like to say that in two months we would like to see some serious, if granted conditionally, that in two months we would see some outreach to the neighborhood groups in that area. just because -- i'm not saying that you're going to be a bad operator. i have the exact opposite feeling, quite frankly. but just for yourselves and for

the neighborhood and so that when -- it would be great if you could do some outreach in the next couple of months. >> if i can assure you that it was, again -- i apologize. we are certainly remiss in not doing it sooner. it's every bit of our attempt in marketing the place, if nothing else, to do outreach and to offer, you know -- we believe that we're good citizens, so we very much would like to offer events, maybe even fundraisers for worthy causes. so if i may, i'd like to get your information maybe through nick, and if you can please direct me to who those people are and whatever groups and tenant associations and whatnot, we're happy to outreach to them. >> i think you can get it right from staff. but, again, there was a gentleman here from the public that wanted to speak before we go any further.

>> yes, good evening, commissioners. i need to concur with commissioner hyde and the importance of community outreach. our organization represents that part of the city, as other organizations do as well in that area. i know if you reach out to officer boyle in northern station and officer torres of the tenderloin station you'll get a list of those groups. our organization meets the second monday of each month at the public library. i know commissioner lee often attends our meetings. we have a lot of project sponsors that come and speak. nicholas attended one of our meetings as well. we have a lot of folks from the entertainment industry at the meetings. >> and your group? i'm sorry. >> the community leadership alliance. we actually had our meeting on monday and we had a pretty good turnout with alcoholic beverage control as a speaker. we've never been notified about this particular business. >> right.

>> and there's actually three groups in our area. we represent -- we work a lot on polk corridor, which we're trying to schedule a meeting with the captain for the clubs, a mediation meeting with the polk nightclub and bars. but there's lower polk neighbors, middle polk neighbors and community leadership alliance, which are all located on the polk corridor, and none of us have been notified of this, so -- >> right. they admitted that it was an oversight. >> it sounds like a good project, but -- >> ok, we agree. that's why we have so many representatives that are looking out for the community. so maybe we could get a motion to approve it, with the caveat that they report back to staff in two months to give a listing of the outreach from the community and how that worked, and if there is a problem at that point, that staff can bring it back for our review.

would that be something somebody would make a motion for? >> i'd like to move that this permit be granted with the condition that in two months we have solid proof that there was community outreach. >> ok. get a second? >> second. >> commissioner perez? >>way. >> commissioner hyde? >> aye. >> commissioner lee? >> aye. >> and president newlin? aye. >> ok, thanks very much. he'll be happy to get you the requisite information. regular calendar, item e, louie ang leetta. am i cut off there? what, did everybody punch out? dba hama zen, place of entertainment. nick? >> so hama zen is a restaurant. it's right at the end of pierre

39. they are applying for an entertainment permit to host events that might include deejays, karaoke or loud music. and there might have been some approval to come in after your pacts were made. so -- pactettes were made. so this is mostly within the jurisdiction of the port. planning and building inspection, they don't have jurisdiction and there hopefully is a letter in your packet. if not, i have it here. it says that the port does support the application for the permit. >> ok. would you like to speak to us about this? >> mr. president, commissioners, my name is mark renney. i have my client, angly ta louie with us -- angelita louie with us today. she's a very renowned figure in the filipino-american community. she has two sushi restaurants,

one near oh farrell and fifth street north and another one on pier 39. that's why we're here tonight. there is approximately 130-seat restaurant. they do a lot of corporate events. i'm going to try something that -- i'm not sure this will work. if we could have the thing. i did have some pictures, but this will give you an idea. it's a large restaurant. it's located at the very end of pier 39. it has a view -- basically 1 s 80-degree sweep from -- 180-degree sweep from the golden gate bridge all the way back to -- -- alcatraz is right across from the main entrance. it's a beautiful spot. they have some amazing food over there. you should have in your packet

a letter from pier 39. and i'm not sure if you have that. if not, i will put that up also . anyway, pier 39 is very much in favor of this. they would like to put a little more life at the end of the pier and perhaps keep people on the pier later at night. miss louie is blessed with a location that's at least ,000 feet from any residence and probably 2,000 feet from any residence, because pier 39 itself is over 1,000 feet long and she's at the very end of the pier. we will have somebody who will give some public testimony, but we did do a little sound testing when we closed the door and had a party going, and pretty much you couldn't hear anything from outside. we're blessed with good sound proofing, we're blessed with a

location that's not going to bother anybody. this will primarily be corporate events, i believe. we would request a conditional grant allowing entertainment seven days a week from 5:00 -- actually, from noon onwards. i think we may have some sort of a jazz brunch occasionally on a sunday afternoon. the last thing that we don't -- you don't have in your file and perhaps we can get that on the screen. miss louie is the president or the vice president now of the filipino-american chamber of commerce. this is a letter from vic barrios, who's the current president, just recommending her character, and that this would be an exciting business to have an entertainment license on. so we're available for any questions, and we would request the conditional rent. >> commissioners, any questions? >> i was wondering if you've

outreached any marine biologyists to see what the effects would be on our harbor seals. >> we reached out to russell, who is the aquatic park neighbor, and we emailed him and it bounced back. so russell massman, if you're out there anywhere, we'd like to talk to you about a great location on pier 39. >> well, we don't want to upset the seals. that's the important thing. commissioners? >> i can tell you that hama zen -- i've been to some fairly -- i've had some parties there, you know. i have former employees that work there as bartenders. they run a very good operation. primarily their main draw is food. and, you know, being back in the day, i used to throw new year's eve parties on the pier. so having more entertainment there, especially since there's

nobody else down there, i think it's a good thing for them. plus miss louie's husband is in law enforcement, so i think that their integrity -- plus, the way they run their operations, i don't think there's going to be an issue in this case. >> so i need a motion -- >> we need to hear from the public. >> oh, i'm sorry, excuse me. >> i have just have a comment. i have been to hama zen on a couple of occasions on fund-raising events. i want to commend you to opening the zoors to the community, especially to nonprofit groups, to allow them to have fund-raising events at your venue. thank you for doing that. >> ok. any members of the public wish to address this permit? yes. >> good evening, commissioners, claw dean chang. i'm coming to ask for the

permit, for you to approve the permit. we didn't realize that they have actually reached out to renew the s.f. renewal group on the northeast waterfront of san francisco, and that's why i'm here today to support them. i also live in the area, a few blocks away. the funny thing is that one time -- i think it was the week before valentine's day, they had a private event there with a singer. they were all the way out back on pier 39. and i said where is the music? i was walking, it was dark at night, around 8:30, and i couldn't hear a thing until i opened the door. so as a neighbor and as a customer, i feel that the pro rightters are really good people, they support the neighborhoods and non-profits. they did not disturb us at all