Zoning board reauthorizes full-service bar at 780 West Beach with neighbors probing hours and parking

The Long Beach Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant a variance that will allow Rosa Rosa Peruvian Cuisine to operate a full-service bar with seating at 780 West Beach Street.

Kenneth Apple, counsel for the applicant, told the board the location previously held a bar variance (noting a 1996 grant) and that the new operators purchased the business for $130,000. He described the proposed operation as a restaurant-first concept with a 49-person occupancy and a 25-foot bar area seating roughly 7–10 people; he said hours would generally run from early afternoon until about 10 p.m. and that the owners do not plan amplified or live music.

Commercial broker Paul Fetscher, who said he has experience with island restaurants, urged approval and said he expected an 80% food/20% alcohol service split under the new ownership. Supporters in the room, including neighborhood business leaders, described the project as a positive economic addition to the West End.

Opponents and nearby residents raised concerns about parking in the busy summer months, asked whether the written Liquor Authority (SLA) application matched representations at the zoning hearing, and pressed the board about enforceability of time or music restrictions. Mike Delorey and others pointed to an SLA submission that included checkboxes for live music and security and asked the board to reconcile those items with the applicants’ oral representations.

Board members discussed whether time-of-operation limits are enforceable and noted the board’s jurisdiction is limited to the variance and property-based conditions. After discussion, a motion to grant was introduced and seconded; the board recorded ‘grant’ votes and announced the application had been granted. The board did not record binding operational time limits on the variance during the hearing, though members encouraged the applicant to formalize neighborhood agreements if possible.