SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Cafe Owners Told They Cannot Sell Alcohol After All

Owners of a new cafe who bought the property with the city’s permission to sell wine and beer were told this week that they may not.

John Humphreys, one of the owners of the Ramos House Cafe, which opened Wednesday in the residential Los Rios Historic District, wants to sell champagne with brunch. But this week, the City Council refused him.

“We don’t want to open a honky-tonk,” Humphreys said, adding that the cafe would be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

Before buying the property and converting it to a cafe, the owners had received permission from the planning department to sell alcohol at the cafe. City officials, however, discovered that the planning department had “made a mistake,” City Councilman David M. Swerdlin said.

“We wouldn’t allow this in any other type of residential neighborhood,” Mayor Carolyn Nash said.

The owners appealed to the Planning Commission, which turned them down. This week, the City Council upheld that decision by a 4-0 vote.

In other action, the council approved a 112-unit senior apartment complex at Ortega Highway and Rancho Viejo Road. The complex, on 3.1 acres, will be designated for seniors with low to moderate incomes.