New law sparks debate at City Council meeting
COUNCIL CHAMBERS — More than two decades after opening Chinois on Main Street, renowned chef Wolfgang Puck was given permission Tuesday to expand and open a 48-seat private dining room next door.
The 5-1 vote by members of the City Council came after 22 members of the public addressed the council, most of them praising Puck as a businessman, an employer and a restaurateur.
As part of their action, council members passed a law which allows existing restaurants on Main Street to add private dining rooms if they receive what’s called a “conditional use permit” from City Hall.
Currently, there’s a limit on the number of restaurants on any given Main Street block and, without the new law, Puck would be unable to expand without taking space away from the 100-seat restaurant.
Instead, Chinois, which grosses about $3.6 million each year and stands to earn another $1 million with the expansion, will take over two adjacent businesses, said Bella Lantsman, Puck’s business partner.
In his comments to the council, Puck, who flew in from New York for the meeting, said Chinois had grown beyond his expectations. The 2709 Main St. restaurant has about 50 workers.
“I think we thought we were going to build a little neighborhood restaurant only and it became a restaurant known all over the world,” Puck said. Meals at Chinois cost about $50 a person without drink or tip.
“I think we thought we were going to build a little neighborhood restaurant only and it became a restaurant known all over the world.” — — WOLFGANG PUCK Owner, Chinois on Main Street
City Councilman Mike Feinstein cast the sole vote against allowing the expansion, saying it sets a bad precedent for Main Street.
“I voted ‘no’ because I believe such changes need to be made in a responsible, comprehensive manner in terms of revising the Main Street plan, not through spot zoning for an individual business,” he said after the vote.
Local historian and Landmarks Commission member Roger Genser, who lives behind Chinois on Second Street, agreed with Feinstein. He urged council members to consider the impact on neighbors.
“It’s a cumulative effect of all the things that the council has approved in recent time,” Genser said, pointing to a noise ordinance that recently failed to earn council support, as well as other council actions. “There’s a cumulative effect on the street.”
Asked by Feinstein if the demise of neighborhood group Ocean Park Community Organization has had an impact on the awareness of the community, Genser said “yes” and added, “The impact is sort of like the sound of one hand clapping. It’s the business community without a response by the neighborhood.”
But ultimately Genser’s concerns were lost in a flood of praise for Chinois. Workers, attorneys, customers and others turned out to ask the council to support the ordinance, passed on by the Planning Commission in October.
In the end, the other five council members present — City Councilman Herb Katz didn’t attend the meeting — voted to support the new ordinance.
“I think there is a need for this kind of private dining room in Santa Monica,” said City Councilman Bob Holbrook, adding he recently encountered a shortage of private dining rooms in planning a large holiday party.
Puck must now have the project approved by the Coastal Commission, which oversees all development near the beach, and City Hall’s Architectural Review Board, which also must approve local developments, before taking over the two retail spaces next door and beginning the transformation.
Lantsman, who is also the general manager at Chinois, said the new area will likely consist of a kitchen and one large room that is able to be divided into three smaller areas. Though it won’t be connected to the restaurant, the private room will be simple, while still resembling Chinois, she added.
“I actually hope that we might be done within six months,” Lantsman said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 11, 2003. Read the original PDF.