Barbecue Blues approved for incidental indoor live music; outdoor entertainment prohibited without further review

The Monrovia Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit allowing incidental indoor live entertainment at Barbecue Blues, 110 East Colorado Boulevard, subject to conditions intended to limit impacts on surrounding uses.

Planning staff told commissioners the restaurant, which opened as Barbecue Blues in January and occupies a site in the PD-5 planned development zone, seeks to host small blues or jazz performances (one to four performers) indoors between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., up to two performances per day. Staff recommended that outdoor live entertainment be prohibited unless the applicant returns to the Planning Commission for an amendment. Staff also recommended standard noise-control conditions: doors and windows must remain closed during performances, no dancing or pyrotechnics, and live entertainment must not be audible outside the property.

Megan Wentz, the restaurant’s general manager, confirmed the side door near the proposed performance area is an emergency egress and that normal patron flow is through the front entrance. Staff said the Downtown Review Committee recommended approval with no substantive comment and that no public comments had been received as of the meeting.

Commissioners debated the permit language about cover charges and entertainment fees and agreed to an amendment to condition 10 to remove an explanatory sentence that distinguished a cover charge from an entertainment fee; the final condition retained the ban on a cover charge to enter the restaurant. The commission then voted to approve the CUP with the amended condition. The roll call vote was unanimous in favor.

Staff reminded the commission that the CUP can be revisited if complaints arise and that any addition of outdoor entertainment would require a formal amendment to the CUP and commission review. Appeals to the City Council must be filed in writing within 10 days of the decision.