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# It’s bougie, not boozy in Ocean Park neighborhood
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/its-bougie-not-boozy-in-ocean-park-neighborhood/
- Published: 2008-01-10T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T17:53:32.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Business, Ocean Park, #archive-import

*Council approved market*

OCEAN PARK An upscale grocer specializing in artisan cheeses and boutique wines is set to take up residency on Main Street, despite complaints by area business owners and residents that contend another store selling alcohol would cause harm to the social welfare of the neighborhood.

The City Council gave Brandon Kim the green light to open Goudas & Vines at 2000 Main St. on Tuesday night, rejecting an appeal filed last year by several Ocean Park residents and a liquor store owner that there is already an overabundance of businesses that sell liquor in the vicinity. The appeal was in response to a Planning Commission decision last September to grant a permit to Goudas & Vines.

The store — which will be housed in one of the ground-level retail spaces in the new Archstone complex on the corner of Main and Bay streets — will be the second for Kim, who opened his flagship location in Montrose in July 2005.

Kim estimates the second store will open in May. “We just need more stuff in the area that we don’t already have,” said Santa Monica resident Sean Kehoe. “There are already stores that sell liquor and cheese.”

Ramon Gastelumiribe, the owner of Star Liquors, which is located across the street from the future site of Goudas & Vines, filed the appeal in October, saying he is concerned about the added possibility of public intoxication since the new business would be open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Wednesday, Gastelumiribe added that he was also concerned with the competition from the new business, since he too sells high-end wine. He also expressed concerns about the wine-tasting room that will accompany the new business, which he believes could lead to drinking and driving.

City Councilmember Ken Genser said it is out of the council’s jurisdiction to decide on matters that have to do with competitive issues and that it should instead focus on whether another business selling alcohol would have an impact on the community. Genser added that the proposed business is at the same site of the old Pioneer Boulangerie Bakery, which he said sold wine.

Kim, who runs the business with his father, explained the reason why the store would open early is to accommodate early morning customers that might want to grab a coffee or Among the product selection in the shop are artisan cheeses from around the world, gourmet meats and specialty olive oil that has been aged for more than 100 years. Though the sale of wine seems to be the biggest concern among residents, the grape alcohol will actually take up less than 30 percent of shelf space, Kim said. The business will not sell hard liquor.

“We have been referred to as a miniature Bristol Farm or Dean & Deluca,” Kim said.

The business will be located in a mixed-use complex that finished construction last year in a 2,700-square-foot space between a beauty salon and a restaurant. The wine-tasting room will be situated in a 283-square-foot space with a dozen seats.

While residents are concerned about public intoxication by patrons that partake in the wine tasting, Kim assured that his staff will discontinue serving customers that are visibly inebriated.

“We definitely won’t have people urinating (outside),” Kim said.

The census tract that includes the proposed grocery store — bounded roughly by Pico Boulevard to the north, Ocean Park Boulevard to the south, Lincoln Boulevard to the east and the ocean — already exceeds its liquor license allotment, according to Joshua Kaplan, a Culver City attorney representing the appellant. While the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control allows only four liquor licenses in the census tract, there are eight currently in operation, according to Kaplan, who said he received a memo recently from the state agency confirming the data.

Kaplan added that it is unnecessary for the business to stay in operation for 15 hours a day.

“Who buys fine wines at 8 in the morning?” Kaplan asked. “Why not limit hours, if this is granted, to at least a reasonable amount of time?”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 10, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/011008.pdf?ref=smdp.com)