Special to the Town Crier
'Disturbing the sanctity of our neighborhood'
Club Mirage has two weeks left to shape up.
Since the Los Altos Planning Commission unanimously voted last Thursday to recommend revocation of the nightclub's use permit, Club Mirage has until the next city council meeting to actually become a restaurant, the use for which the business is approved. City council is scheduled to make the final decision about whether to shut down Club Mirage at its Aug. 24 meeting.
The establishment has caused police and noise problems all year, including over 90 calls to the police department, Los Altos Senior Planner Jim Mackenzie said at the planning commission meeting. Mackenzie said owner Javad Mehranfar hasn't changed his business, even though he has been told several times since November 1998 to comply with its use permit.
Club Mirage is actually registered as the Healthy Choice Restaurant, a "dinner club with (disc jockey) or live music ... where the entertainment aspect of the business would be secondary in nature to the restaurant," Mackenzie said. But Mehranfar has instead run a night club since 1998.
The list of violations and problems at the establishment includes having no food or menu at the facility, yet having three separate bars, dance floors and music systems, according to Mackenzie. Club Mirage has also broken/disregarded state Alcoholic Beverage Control and city codes. The property is not zoned for a night club.
Tony Cidonio, who lives near Club Mirage, said he and his neighbors have been disturbed each Friday and Saturday night for the past several months. "It's disturbing the sanctity of our neighborhood," he said. Loud music and crowd noise have become the primary topic of conversation between neighbors, Cidonio said.
"The nightclub is out ... we're really begging you for another shot at it," Tony Lagorio, a lawyer for Mehranfar, told the planning commission. He said the business would begin to comply with town staff's guidelines of operating a bona fide restaurant and limiting the entertainment part of the business to a secondary use. He asked for two weeks to change Club Mirage into a restaurant.
David Alesworth, newly hired restaurant manager, said, "(Mehranfar) has brought me in to totally revamp the operation into a high-quality restaurant." Alesworth said operators will remove the dance floor on the lower level of the business and feature lunches and dinners during scheduled hours, while still offering entertainment. He added Club Mirage would still be run as a nightclub Aug. 6 and 7 to keep bringing in revenue.
"It's darned hard to make it in the restaurant business in Los Altos," Lagorio said.
He spoke of Chuck's Cellar, a past restaurant successful at the Club Mirage location, which was "not known for its food, but the nightclub/dance sort of thing."
Holding a nightclub instead of a restaurant is much more profitable, Lagorio said.
Commissioner Kate Disney said, "The fact that he's doing this and no one else is unfair to the other businesses ... my feeling is, (the decision) is pretty cut and dried. This is a nightclub, not a restaurant. It's not an allowed use."
Some commissioners hoped to see Club Mirage survive as a restaurant with an entertainment element. "I feel like there is clearly a need for this kind of club," Disney said.
Planning Commissioner Penny Lave added, "I think there's a fine line between "nightclub" and "entertainment," citing Chuck's Cellar, which hosted bands decades ago.
Commissioner Linn Winterbotham offered suggestions of ways to reduce the noise and police problems, such as reducing hours and eliminating the cover charge. "Bringing back groups like the Limelighters and the Kingston Trio would probably tame the crowd a little," he joked.
But for the most part, planning commissioners were skeptical of Mehranfar's promise to open a restaurant after months of noncompliance.
"The thing that troubles me most is the apparent complete lack of responsiveness of the owner until the eleventh hour," said commissioner John Richie. "We've got a track history here that gives rise to concern."