Restaurant sings the blues

A group of Calabasas business owners and residents have started what could be a long battle to save a local store and eatery.

The owners of Blue Table in the Calabasas Plaza shopping center on Park Granada spoke to the City Council last month after the city informed them that, because of the small size of the parking lot outside of their shop, Blue Table was in violation of parking and loading codes. The establishment does not have a restaurant designation and will need to remove the tables and chairs that sit in front of the deli, the owners said.

But Mayor Mary Sue Maurer reminded the speakers that because the issue was not on the agenda the council wouldn't be able to speak on the issue.

"I know our staff has been having conversations with Blue Table, and we think they are productive, and we're hopeful, but that's about all you're going to hear (from the council)," Maurer said.

Jim and Ellen Marcione, and Stefano and Gina Lisi bought Blue Table in April 2004.

"It was a very slow business, and we built it up and built it up," Ellen Marcione said. "Today I found out we are not a restaurant. I had no idea. We are supposed to just be a little store. When we bought the business there were plates and forks and tables. . . . We are a restaurant.

"It's devastating to feel you've worked so hard and become part of this community, helped this community, and now we're told we can't have people sit down," Marcione added through tears.

Maureen Tamuri, the city's community development director, said all code violation cases are confidential, but confirmed that there are two types of restaurant designations—a counter service restaurant and a table service restaurant. Currently, Blue Table has neither.

"We don't go looking for this," Tamuri said. "We get an independent report, and we investigate them. Our goal is to work with whoever the property owner is to legalize the things they are doing. Not every case that comes to the city is done with malice. Many times people just don't know. We try to help people understand types of permits they need."

Gina Lisi said she administered a survey to her customers and that 40 percent of them walk up to Blue Table.

"Our center was built in the 1970s," Lisi said. "It's never going to be up to code. There's always going to be a parking situation. Hopefully we can work through this."

Other local business owners spoke on behalf of Blue Table, including Mark Shibuya, owner of Shibuya Sushi in the same center.

"Blue Table has been such a great meeting place," Shibuya said. "If you take their table and chairs, I'm sure they will be out of business. We should give Blue Table some help. They have been serving a lot of customers over the last few years."

The owners have garnered more than 1,000 signatures in support of the restaurant.

"Through hard work and long hours, we have raised our business, and we are doing pretty well right now," James Marcione said. "We attribute this mainly to the people of Calabasas and the businessfriendly community that we all participate in. We are trying to get through this as painlessly as we can. We want to meet city requirements the best we can."

"The city is exceptionally successful in solving code enforcement (issues)," Tamuri said. "Doing so requires the owners to be creative. . . . It doesn't come with a wave of a magic wand. Just because we like a business, it would be a tremendous abuse (to ignore the violations). We all love Blue Table. I know plenty of people do."