Is the Larchmont Bungalow an illegal restaurant?
It’s an oft-repeated fact that the majority of the actual residents of Ktown are Latinos. Koreans who come here for the BBQ and those who own the local businesses? They live in Orange County or in nearby Hancock Park aka “Hankook” Park. Ask any shop proprietor on Larchmont (Hancock Park’s commercial district) and you’ll be told that roughly 30% of their customers are Korean and/or the Caucasian and black Hollywood aspirants who can afford to live only in Ktown. It’s the proximity.
The point of the previous paragraph? That’s the reason why a person in my position and job title is asked all the time the question, “What’s this about the Larchmont Bungalow being illegal?”
I’m asked this so often that I’m now able to sum it up in a few sentences.
1. In June 2009, the Larchmont Bungalow signed a legal covenant promising the city that they would not build a sit-down restaurant.
2. The Larchmont Bungalow built a sit-down restaurant, so the city revoked their permit after they opened.
3. Their permit was revoked in December 2009. They’ve been operating illegally since then.
4. In March 2010, the city filed criminal charges against the Bungalow for operating without a permit.
5. The criminal case will finally be heard in March 2011.
There are a lot of business irregularities that are overlooked in Koreatown, but nothing as brazen as what the Bungalow has been trying to pull off. Will they get away with it? Well, with the prices they’ve been charging their customers, they have enough money for the lawyers and the spinmeisters.
Just the fact that they’ve managed to delay the case for over a year… it’s gotten so that everyone assumes they’ve cleared up their legal problems and is a completely normal restaurant.
Will the Bungalow be shut down? Although it’s clear that what they did was an outright violation of the law, rich people who can afford the lawyers and spinmeisters can get away even with murder, especially in this part of Los Angeles.
One blog reported that the Bungalow will merely be fined a thousand dollars for each day they’ve been open illegally. Is that enough of a deterrent to prevent another company from violating the law so egregiously in the future? Not if they intend to rake in enough cash to offset the possible fine.
UPDATE: Need proof that a couple of million dollars for lawyers can let you get away with anything?
The criminal case has again been delayed, this time to June 12, 2012.