By Kameel Stanley
Thursday, June 26, 2008
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.
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