Angelo’s Beats Anaheim to the Punch With a Lawsuit

With the threat of a City Hall lawsuit closing in, Angelo’s Hamburgers, the popular Anaheim drive-in restaurant, won the race to the courthouse Friday.

Angelo’s filed suit against Anaheim and several city officials, charging that the city’s zoning laws are discriminatory.

The city has threatened to close down the ‘50s-style hamburger restaurant on 211 N. Beach Blvd. because it allegedly does not have proper permits as a drive-in, drive-through restaurant. The city also has denied the restaurant’s request for permits to sell alcoholic beverages and to operate an outdoor eating area.

Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Ronald Bauer set a hearing for Sept. 22 but denied Angelo’s request for a temporary restraining order, which would have forbidden the city to take any action until the hearing date.

Deputy City Atty. Mack Slaughter said the lawsuit “is without merit and should be dismissed.”

Slaughter would not say what the city’s next step will be. Earlier this month, officials from the city’s code enforcement office said they would ask the city attorney’s office to prosecute Angelo’s. Code Enforcement Officer Richard La Rochelle said Friday that the city’s position has not changed.

In anticipation of that possible lawsuit, Angelo’s decided to file one of its own to prevent the city from enforcing zoning ordinances that the restaurant owners said are discriminatory.

Angelo’s owners have argued that the Beach Boulevard restaurant has operated as a drive-in, drive-through eatery under at least four different owners during more than a decade before Angelo’s took over. Only then did the city take note that the restaurant had not sought drive-in, drive-through restaurant status, they contend.

“They’re discriminatorily applying zoning ordinances against Angelo’s,” Reinglass said. “They haven’t prosecuted anybody else.”

Angelo’s and the City of Anaheim have been at war since its first restaurant opened in the city at 511 S. State College Blvd. several years ago. That Angelo’s became a popular spot for hot-rod enthusiasts from throughout Southern California, who on the first Friday of each month gathered to show off their cars. Neighboring businesses and residents complained about the traffic, crowds, noise and litter.

While lawsuits have been threatened and several complaints filed through the years, only one went completely through the courts. After a trial earlier this summer, a jury found Angelo’s not guilty of violating zoning laws that require a permit for outdoor tables and chairs.