Popular Halal Guys restaurant again asks for later hours; some neighbors still object

The Halal Guys, a popular Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant, is coming back to the Costa Mesa Planning Commission on Monday with a request to keep its doors open later into the night.

The 1,440-square-foot restaurant at 3033 Bristol St. had its grand opening in October and was quickly met with long lines of hungry eaters eager to try the New York-based chain’s platters of chicken, gyro and falafel covered in a signature white sauce.

That surge wasn’t well received by neighbors, however, who complained of noisy patrons coming near their homes, parking on their tracts because 3033 Bristol’s lot was full, and then leaving trash on the ground.

The Halal Guys is requesting to stay open as late as 1 a.m. Thursday through Saturday — two hours later than its 11 p.m. closing time now. The commission first heard the proposal in October, but decided at the time to hold off on making any decisions so Halal Guys’ management could alleviate problems.

Since then, Thomas Pham, Halal Guys’ franchisee for Southern California, said his team has worked with staff, local homeowners associations and the property owner toward some potential solutions.

“The Halal Guys is proud to have chosen such an energetic and involved community to represent their first West Coast restaurant, and we respect local residents’ concerns,” Pham said in a statement to the Daily Pilot on Friday. “We appreciate the landlord and the community for diligently working with us to address all issues and concerns.”

He noted that valet parking was added to ease congestion woes, and restaurant managers have been doing rounds in the neighborhood, when leaving and coming to work. During those rounds, they “have not observed any trash or guests parking on the streets,” Pham said, later adding that “the management team has spoken with local HOAs and have been personally monitoring the property and our emails for complaints, and have not noticed any concerns or disturbances.”

“Again, we are not serving alcohol,” Pham said, “and this is a quick-service restaurant, so we anticipate guests ordering food and either eating inside or taking it to go.”

Lisa Price lives about three blocks away from the restaurant, in the Pentridge Cove condominium community off Baker Street, where some Halal Guys customers have been parking.

Compared to when the restaurant first opened, excessive noise and parking issues at Pentridge Cove during the week aren’t as noticeable, she said, “but the weekends are still terrible.”

“You don’t need to be open after 11 o’clock,” Price said Friday, adding it’s “unnecessary and ridiculous” for Halal Guys to even consider being open later than that.

Costa Mesa resident, Krista Farmer, who lives on nearby Trinity Drive, sent an email to commissioners Wednesday urging them not to extend the hours.

In the email, Farmer complained of patrons loudly talking or yelling in her neighborhood on their way to Halal Guys. Others, she alleged, sit in their cars while eating their food and blast their car stereos to the extent that it wakes up her family late at night.

“We are not against businesses opening and thriving,” she wrote. “However, their business and customers should not have a negative impact towards the neighborhood it resides next do. My family means everything to me!”

Monday’s Planning Commission meeting starts at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.