GARDEN GROVE : Liquor Permit Denied for Restaurant Site

The Planning Commission on Wednesday unanimously denied a bid to allow liquor and entertainment at a vacant Knott Street restaurant, a proposal criticized by residents who feared it would increase crime, traffic and other problems.

Theodore Heier, who owns the Fraternity House bar and nightclub in the city, had asked the commission to allow alcohol, bands and stage acts at 12777 Knott St., the site of a restaurant called Marmac’s that closed last year.

More than 200 people attended the meeting, and about 30 residents blasted the plan. Many complained that Heier’s new business would attract a gay clientele because the Fraternity House caters to gay men.

Heier, however, said that although the Fraternity House is a gay bar, his intention with the Knott Street property is to offer family-style dining, banquets, bands and occasional comedy acts.

Heier said he will consider legal action against the city.

Commission members “were herded into [the decision] by this lynch mob,” Heier said after the meeting, which was moved from the City Council chambers into a large adjacent assembly hall and lasted until nearly midnight. “Because I own a so-called alternative-lifestyle bar, I can’t be a successful entrepreneur?”

But commission members denied Heier’s charge, saying their individual decisions were based on residents’ complaints about noise, traffic congestion and a possible increase in crime.

Under the proposal, the establishment would have been open until 2 a.m., and the site is about a block from homes, commissioners said.