Restaurant or nightclub?

Recently Mozambique Restaurant opened in Laguna Beach in the old

Tortilla Flats location. Tortilla Flats had been closed for a few

years, and we neighbors were looking forward to a nice business to

improve the decaying building and parking lot.

We were happy when Mozambique bought the building and began to fix

it up. We were hopeful when they applied for their conditional use

permit speaking of “community,” a “family restaurant” and “nice adult

entertainment.”

What we got, however, was a Las Vegas-sized restaurant and a

destination nightclub. is now requesting modifications to the

original permit to expand late-night hours, entertainment and

seating.

Laguna Beach residents who might want a large, upscale restaurant

nearby instead of having to go to Fashion Island or the Spectrum

might be surprised at the negative impact of Mozambique on our town.

During peak weekend hours, and some weekdays, the hundreds of cars

that circle the area looking for parking goes on nonstop. Valets

shuttling cars to and from off-site parking spots increases the chaos

around the residential streets surrounding Woods Cove. The parked

cars of the nightclub patrons line the streets nearby.. Why is our

city planning commission approving a nightclub or a restaurant

masquerading as a nightclub in our residential areas? We continue to

hear that the number of DUI’s is increasing tremendously in Laguna

Beach. I can’t imagine that our planning commission’s mission is

actually to o7createf7 more drunk drivers circulating on our

streets. The guy who fell in the front of our house at 10:30 p.m. one

night, as his girlfriend helped him into the driver’s seat while

screaming obscenities, could impact any of our lives by causing a car

accident.

We now have had street fights, car-keying, front-door urinating,

front-yard sleeping, street-vomiting and about 10,000 cigarette butts. . It doesn’t make sense that restaurants with nightclubs are

being approved in our residential areas.

The message should be clear. Laguna Village and Woods Cove

residents do not want any more nightclubs in our residential areas. .

In its conditional approval of Mozambique’s liquor license, the ABC

stated that the Woods Cove area “presently exists an undue

concentration of [liquor] licenses.”

It should be the responsibility of the city to protect our

neighborhoods and citizens. I am respectfully appealing to the Laguna

Beach Planning Commission to guide Mozambique to the original

approved concept of a friendly, family restaurant.

Ed Todeschini is a 25-year Laguna Beach resident.