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In Overcrowding at Sterling Restaurant, Some See Wider Ills

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By Kameel Stanley

Thursday, June 26, 2008

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Days after authorities temporarily shut down a Sterling restaurant for overcrowding, some are saying the episode is an example of things gone wrong in the community.

County Supervisor Eugene A. Delgaudio (R-Sterling) said he's happy that authorities cited Pepe's Place, in the 22300 block of Sterling Boulevard.

"There's been a series of incidents over the years," he said.

Delgaudio said many in the community avoid the area on weekend nights because of disorderly patrons, adding that he has been raising concerns about the Mexican restaurant and bar since last summer.

But Patricia Carranza, the owner of Pepe's, said that it isn't causing any trouble and that she doesn't understand why some people seem to have it in for her business.

"I help Loudoun County with my commerce," she said. "I'm doing my business, and I don't care what other people do."

People gathered Sunday night at Pepe's to watch a soccer World Cup qualifying game between El Salvador and Panama. The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office received complaints about large crowds loitering in the parking lot about 7:40 p.m., said sheriff's spokesman Kraig Troxell.

"We got there and noticed there were possible crowding issues within the restaurant," he said.

Deputies called the Loudoun fire department and the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, he said. The fire marshal's office revoked Carranza's assembly use permit after officials realized that her business had exceeded the legal capacity of 153 people inside the building.

"This is a life-safety issue," said Keith Brower, Loudoun's chief fire marshal. "We counted 274 [people]... This is clearly an unsafe situation."

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A similar situation occurred in 2004, when police said about 400 people gathered at Pepe's to watch a World Cup qualifying match between Honduras and Canada. The fire marshal also shut down the restaurant that time.

Pepe's reopened Monday, under the condition that no more than 49 people -- the maximum number allowed without an assembly use permit -- be in the restaurant.

Delgaudio said he would like to see the restaurant's liquor license revoked because it has had problems controlling patrons before. He said others in the community agree.

"Having a liquor license is not a license to organize large gatherings in the street," he said. "There's been criminal activity."

Carranza denied that her restaurant is involved with any criminal activity, and she said she has cooperated with law enforcement officials when incidents have occurred in the neighborhood.

Troxell said that crimes have occurred in the area but that he could not recall any tied directly to Pepe's.

Carranza said that she has operated the restaurant for 10 years and that it wasn't until recently that a few new owners in the strip mall started to target her business with false rumors that her customers were illegal immigrants and criminals.

She said that she knows it is ultimately her fault that there were too many people in the restaurant Sunday night but that she thinks the decision to temporarily close the business was unfair.

When fire officials arrived, she said, they told her she had to remove 120 people.

"The people left," she said. "He gave me 30 minutes to do that."

After the bar was cleared and she had refunded $20 to each customer who had bought a ticket to watch the game, the fire marshal still closed the business, she said.

"I did whatever the deputy said. I put people out," she said. "Why'd he make me shut down the place? I hope people know what really happened."

Brower said that Carranza misunderstood and that her permit had to be revoked because of the violation.

Capacity rules are a priority, he said, because tragedies can occur if a fire breaks out and there are too many people and not enough exits.

"We're not targeting anybody," he said. "We enforce the fire prevention code."

Carranza must apply to get her assembly use permit back, a process Brower said could take two weeks to 30 days. The violation she has been charged with is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine, he said.

Becky Gettings, public affairs director for the Alcoholic Beverage Control department, said the agency is investigating possible administrative charges against the restaurant but declined to release further details.

Tagged: alcohol, immigration, restaurant

Comments:

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Mr. Delgaudio needs to realize his district isn't lilly white, and he represents ALL of his residents. He's on an opportunistic witch hunt and this is going to get a lot uglier before there are true solutions.

Posted by maravetz (anonymous) on June 25, 2008 at 11:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)

maravetz, are you saying this is only an issue because the patrons are non-white?

Please prove this theory.

You do know that almost every public business (movie theatre, restaurant, shopping mall) has these same restrictions, correct?
.
Why is it only "unfair" when it affects Hispanics, or African Americans, or Asians?
.
Should America have multiple stes of laws for each ethnic group?

Posted by OhTheHumanity (anonymous) on June 26, 2008 at 8:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"When fire officials arrived, she said, they told her she had to remove 120 people.
After the bar was cleared and she had refunded $20 ..."
.
I would say having 120 people OVER the legal limit is a tad greedy, and basically displays an obvious disregard for our laws.
.
These laws are actually more geared toward avoiding catastrophes like fires, etc.
.

Of course, the Apologists only see it as a "witch hunt" ... Wake up morons, maybe if they had ONE person too many, you could argue they were being harassed ... 120?

Posted by OhTheHumanity (anonymous) on June 26, 2008 at 9:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I support the actions of the fire marshal. As I would expect them to do the same if Clyde's had too many people in it. All occupancy laws and liquor laws should be enforced. Mr. Delgaudio wants to take it a step further, he wants to close the place down. That's a witch hunt. Many of his constituents were in that club, and he needs to represent them. My comment stands.

Posted by maravetz (anonymous) on June 26, 2008 at 11:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Of course it's a witch hunt. Does anyone honestly believe that Mr. Delgaudio and his ilk would be interested in a fire marshal action at Clydes? We'll have to wait and see if the same white supremacist websites come up in the next Google alert on Mr. Delgaudio, won't we? He's an embarrassment.

Posted by daviddanaan (anonymous) on June 26, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Obviously, Pepe's needs to expand. Maybe Mr. Delgaudio could actually do something good for our county's tax base by helping the owners secure a loan.

Posted by daviddanaan (anonymous) on June 26, 2008 at 2:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm out, Amigos ... my mind's decidedly not changed, as I doubt yours is/are.

I raise a shot-glass to the proposed expansion of Pepe's.

Posted by OhTheHumanity (anonymous) on June 26, 2008 at 2:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Cool,Where is the Clyde's in Sterling Park!

Posted by sydnorg (anonymous) on June 26, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Remember the fire that was caused by a band playing in an overcrowded establishment? It was caught on video. If those of us who applaud the decision are such racists, why wouldn't we just say, hey, go ahead, hope you burn up or get trampled to death trying to escape an accidental fire? Of course not. It's a color-blind, ethnicity-blind simple matter of safety. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Posted by obviously (anonymous) on June 26, 2008 at 9:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This past St. Patrick’s Day some friends from out of town and me decided we would go out for dinner and drinks. We went to O'Faiolans and Kirkpatrick’s both in Loundon County. Both facilities had people at the door controlling how many people entered. I ask was it that busy? The reply was "Yes and the Fire Marshall will only allow so many customers in for safety reasons". I applaud this way of dealing with customers and have frequent both facilities sense because I feel SAFE!

Good Job Fire Marshall/Chief, keep up the inspections.

Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on June 27, 2008 at 8:41 a.m. (Suggest removal)

can't get much whiter than St. Paddy's day! lol

what's happening with hispanics now is the same thing that happened with blacks in the 70's (and still tends to happen)- every bad thing that happened to a black person was b/c of race, not b/c an actually LAW had been broken, or b/c of an actual violation- oh no. all race. it diminshes ACTUAL racial issues which do still exist. same goes for women- we didn't get the job NOT b/c we weren't the best candidate, but b/c we're women. as a black woman i say two words: SPARE. ME.

sometimes it IS racial or sexism. sometimes it JUST IS. move on! it drives me insane.

they broke the code, they were punished. FIN. they should have controlled the number of ppl allowed in just like everyone else has to.

Posted by tttrenee (anonymous) on June 27, 2008 at 10:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)

So you turned it into a race thing as opposed to a legal thing. You go girl!

Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on June 27, 2008 at 1:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Bingo, ttrenee.

This incident is nothing more than a microcosm demonstrating the attitude within the community that the laws do not apply to them. Perhaps that is the prevailing sentiment in El Salvador or Honduras. Maybe fire codes of this sort don't exist there. But Loudoun County is neither of those places (which BTW they fled to come live here) and as such people who live here have to abide by the laws of this jurisdiction.

Just once I would like to hear a member of that community acknowledge the truth - That yes, crime does occur at a larger rate within our populus and the added enforcement activity is a fault of the individuals' behavior and not from racial targeting.

Latinos have no further to look than the African American inner-city communities to see the failing of a victim mentality.

Surely I will be called racist by someone who has no rational counter to this argument. That's the easy way out.

Race has come a long way in this country - we are on the verge of possibly electing an African-American as President - but using race as an excuse is merely a crutch that will serve to further degrade the minority populus.

Stop flouting the laws of our country and perhaps you might find that people are more civil towards you.

Posted by SavedByZero (anonymous) on June 27, 2008 at 1:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

savedbyzero there is absolutely NOTHING racist in your statements- you are RIGHT. that victim mentality whether it be race, gender, religion or other- creates a negative envirmonment that feeds on "see? we can't get a break" instead of going out and doing the right thing. don't just OPEN a business- study, know and abide by the rules. if you get busted for something- don't say you are being targeted or picked on- DO THE RIGHT THING and no one can bug you! if you can show proof and patterns of harrassment it's one thing, but if not, pay your fine, follow the rules and prosper.

funnyguyva- I didn't TURN this into a race thing- that was brought up long before i got here. it IS a legal thing and minorities should stop with the race card every time THEY (should I say WE... naah- I don't GET in trouble!) get in trouble. not sure what you are trying to say about my post.

Posted by tttrenee (anonymous) on June 27, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Perhaps Loudoun County should've used this as an opportunity to test out their new power to check immigration status. We potentially could've gone from an overcrowded restaurant to an overcrowded detention center in one evening!

Posted by Hoqenishy (anonymous) on June 28, 2008 at 7:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I was once knew a former security officer at that establishment. I can tell you that there is nothing corrupt about Pepe’s. They employ former Law Enforcement officers, former Army Rangers, Marines, and Security Management professionals to ensure public safety both inside and out. All Security personnel are licensed as well. All patrons have there identification checked, and are searched doing entertainment hours. The security staff works closely with law enforcement to keep the night safe. In fact, many deputies will acknowledge that Pepe’s has done a 360 turnaround in terms of public safety. Even the Loudoun County Sheriff department confirms this “Troxell said that crimes have occurred in the area but that he could not recall any tied directly to Pepe's.” I do not understand why people are scared to walk in front of the establishment. You are safer at Pepe’s then you are at some of establishments in the area. If a crime did occur, security personnel where always first to protect the public, and assist responding law enforcement with the investigation giving eye witness accounts of what transpired. Overcrowding is an issue, however, lets not single out this one establishment. You can go to many Irish Pubs a see that building is way over capacity. I not making no excuses, but lets be fair here. As far as the notion of Pepe’s patrons being gang-members…please! I know that the manger of security there is hated by many gang-members because he cleaned that place up by banning every last one of them. He even got many of them arrested. Lets not make Pepe’s a political stepping stone to push agenda.

Posted by jobmasterdc (anonymous) on June 30, 2008 at 1:23 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Another Side to Pepe's

After reading the article about Pepe's Place ["In Overcrowding at Restaurant, Some See Wider Ills," Extra, June 26] , I felt compelled to write. I am a 47-year-old white woman who lives in Ashburn, and I am a regular at the Mexican restaurant in Sterling. In fact, Pepe's is one of my favorite places.

For almost a year, they have been hosting line dancing and country couples dancing Thursday nights. Our multi-generational group has a great time, and there has never been one hint of trouble. It is ironic that they had crowding issues June 22, because the regular line dancers have been fretting about the small numbers Thursdays, and we had been worried the restaurant wouldn't be able to continue with the activity.

Although I can imagine that seeing a large group gathering in the parking lot could be alarming, it was still daylight when the crowding occurred, and it sounds as though the establishment was caught off guard.

I am certain other businesses have had to deal unexpectedly with an unusually large group that exceeded the capacity of their building. But in the 12 years I have lived in Loudoun County, I cannot recall any media coverage of crowding anywhere but Pepe's Place.

I think Pepe's is getting caught up in the current illegal-immigration furor. I sincerely feel that it is unfair. It would be a shame if this incident spins out of control and the restaurant is forced to surrender its liquor license.

There is some good, clean, all-American fun happening at Pepe's, and I encourage you to check it out and run a story about this other side to the restaurant.

Carole Clark

Ashburn

Posted by jobmasterdc (anonymous) on July 2, 2008 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

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