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Board reinstates Cafe Chanta food permit after DPH revocation; department warns immediate revocation for new violations
Summary
After repeated enforcement for indoor hookah and unpermitted tobacco sales, the Board of Appeals reinstated the Cafe Chanta food permit on Nov. 14, 2012 after the owner stopped selling tobacco products; Department of Public Health recommended reinstatement but asked to be allowed to revoke immediately if violations recur.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals reinstated the food permit for Cafe Chanta (587 Post St.) on Nov. 14, reversing a revocation imposed by the Department of Public Health (DPH) while accepting DPH’s recommendation for close supervision.
Owner Mohammed Hurrian told the board he had operated his downtown cafe for several years and added hookah service in response to customer demand. Hurrian said he has adjusted the business model to stop offering hookah and asked the board to restore his food permit to avoid closing and to keep his livelihood.
DPH senior inspector Janine Young summarized a long compliance history: letters and notices of violation dating from 2009 through 2012, multiple conferences and director hearings, and on‑site inspections that documented hookah devices and tobacco products after the owner had told staff otherwise. Young said a July site visit with police found about 20 patrons using hookah devices and photo evidence dated June–July 2012 corroborated smoking inside the cafe.
Young told the board that over the past 30 days department staff observed no tobacco products or hookah equipment and that the owner had indicated a willingness to comply. DPH recommended reinstating the permit but asked the board to endorse a process that would allow the department to quickly revoke the permit again if violations were documented.
The board voted 4–0 to grant the appeal and reinstate the permit. Commissioners said they expected the owner to remain compliant and signaled that future documented violations could lead to expedited departmental enforcement.
