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Not Their Dish

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

An ongoing controversy over live entertainment and parking between a Mexican restaurant and its neighbors has soured relations, with allegations of racism being added into the mix.

City officials last month nearly revoked the live music permit of the 6-month-old La Terraza Restaurant, 6197 Ball Road. Council members opted to extend the permit 60 days, allowing the restaurant’s owner to address complaints from neighbors about noise, public drinking and parking.

“We are a new business but our neighbors want to drive us out,” said restaurant manager Leticia Montalbo. “They don’t want a Mexican restaurant here because of the clientele we attract.”

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Not so, says Matt Smith, owner of Cypress Family Pizza at 6191 Ball Road, which shares the same parking lot with La Terraza, a bingo hall and other businesses in a complex known as Cinnamon Square.

“I’ve got nothing against the restaurant or Hispanics. In fact, I hope they succeed as long the problems are taken care of,” Smith said. “This is not a racial issue. It’s about doing business in a good way.”

Smith filed complaints with police after graffiti was painted on his business. He also complained that he found people having sex in cars in the parking lot and others urinating next to cars. He said he has had to clear dozens of beer bottles strewn near his business.

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“All these problems surfaced after La Terraza opened,” Smith said. “I run a family business. I don’t want my children or any other children seeing this activity.”

The nearby bingo hall, which caters mostly to senior citizens, and residents in the neighborhood also have complained about noise and parking problems.

La Terraza has countered with complaints of its own, contending that bingo patrons are taking restaurant parking spaces.

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The controversy over La Terraza is not the first of its kind in Cypress. Live music permits of numerous establishments have been reviewed this year, and these include two other Mexican restaurants. Most notably, the City Council temporarily revoked the permit of Via Maria Restaurant, 9969 Walker St., after what police called a near riot in the parking lot.

Via Maria’s permit was extended last month after a tempestuous debate in which supporters of the restaurant raised allegations that the business was being targeted because it caters mainly to minorities.

The complaints involving La Terraza were just heating up when the council made a routine, six-month review of the restaurant’s live entertainment permit.

In voting to extend the permit, the city required that the restaurant reduce its hours of live music, increase security, retrain employees and work out the parking problem with area businesses. Some council members said they feared La Terraza was becoming more of a nightclub than a family restaurant.

Police Lt. John Schaefer said officers are monitoring the area more closely to determine whether the restaurant is complying with the city. “Some things have been done and others are still being worked out,” he said.

The council will revisit the issue in late October.

Montalbo said the restaurant is working to remedy the problems: “We want to be a family restaurant and if we lose our permit we can’t hold banquets or birthdays.”

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But the changes made so far, she said, have hurt business, especially on nights when the parking lot is filled by patrons of other businesses. Frequent police patrols are also scaring away potential customers, she said.

Mayor Tom Carroll said the city welcomes businesses because of the revenue they bring, but each business must abide by city codes.

“We are not singling anyone out. It’s just that the city routinely reviews live music permits and each case is different,” Carroll said.

“This mention of racism is nonsense. What [the businesses] need to do is work out their parking differences.”

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NEIGHBORHOODS / Cinnamon Square

Bounded by: Ball Road to the south, Holder Street to the east, Valley View Street to the west, Carbon Creek Channel to the north

Population: 10 businesses, approximately 600 residents

Hot topic: Noise, drinking and parking complaints involving La Terraza Restaurant

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