Despite Attempts To Repeal The Order, The Cafe Closed In June
By Dolores Quintana
The Habibi Cafe, a restaurant and hookah bar in Westwood at 923 Broxton Ave, is now closed after actions taken by the Los Angeles City Council. The restaurant allegedly sold alcohol when it only had a permit to operate as a restaurant.
According to Patricia Macias, Council District 5 Councilmember Katy Yaroslavky’s Westwood field deputy at the North Westwood Neighborhood Council meeting, the Habibi Cafe was given fifteen days’ notice to comply with permit regulations. If the cafe did not comply with the order, the City Council would authorize a closure and turn off power and water to the restaurant after completing criminal and on-site investigations.
The minutes of the Westwood Neighborhood Council stated, “The Habibi Café hearing was 3½ hours long, and between 60 and 70 callers commented. It was a unanimous vote to revoke use. This decision only affects 923 and 925 Broxton, but Habibi’s owner also runs 927 Broxton, The Mon Amour Cafe, and The Old Gypsy Café.”
The restaurant closed its doors after the order was issued, and city signs notifying the neighborhood were put up at the site to inform the public of the closure.
This followed a recommendation from the City Planning and Land Use Management Committee (PLUM) on September 8, 2022 that stated that the PLUM committee resolved “to revoke the use and discontinue the operation of Habibi Café, as contained in the September 8, 2022 Memorandum from the Department of City Planning Department (DCP), Zoning Administrator, as the Findings of Council.”
An appeal of the revocation recommendation by the PLUM committee was filed by Jan Fathi, Operator of Habibi Café and Representative: Martin S. Wolf, Esq., MSW Law Firm, and denied by the committee after a representative of the CD5 representative’s office presented community comments and the LAPD presented crime statistics and investigations regarding the property site on November 1, 2022. When the matter went before the City Council, they voted to approve it.
