The West Hollywood Business License Commission conducted a public hearing to consider the application for an Extended Hour Business License for Doughbrik’s Pizza to operate until 3:00 a.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, at 8363 Sunset Boulevard on The Sunset Strip.
Commissioner Mark Yusupov made a motion to approve a conditional license for six months to give the business an opportunity to address issues that came up at the hearing. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Danny Hang. However, the motion did not pass due to a locked 2-2 vote with Commissioner Elyse Eisenberg and Commissioner Catherine Eng voting down the motion (Chair Anthony Vulin was absent and incoming Commissioner Jordan Cockeram is still in training, however he did speak in favor of the extended hours during public comment).
The Extended Hour Business License would require the business to provide sufficient off-street parking for its patrons to prevent cruising on neighborhood streets; maintain a neat
and clean appearance; discourage patrons from engaging in criminal or unlawful
activity by providing diligent management, instituting security measures and contacting the Sheriff’s Department whenever such unlawful activity occurs; and the applicant must discourage loitering.
Doughbrik’s agreed to the terms stating that it would have a manager on staff till the late hours; they would hire a second security person for the extended hour, they’d work with the neighboring businesses so their customers don’t park in their spaces and they’d ensure that the area was maintained clean in the residential neighborhoods.
City Staff submitted a report in support of the extended hours stating that it reviewed the facts and information provided by the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department, the Extended Hour Business License application, and supporting documentation submitted by the applicant. The Staff report added that it believed the approval of this establishment would not cause negative impacts in the residential and commercial neighborhoods based on their findings and that the business will be required to follow the operating requirements under WHMC 5.52.30.
Despite City Staff’s recommendation, the commission heard a lot of grievances from neighboring residents and businesses who complained about illegal parking in their neighborhoods, noise, traffic and the littering of pizza boxes with the Doughbrik’s name on their streets. There were also complaints of inaccessible restrooms and how the pizzeria never picks up their phone to address neighbor complaints.
Commissioner Eng said she was not thrilled to learn that the business has been hiring armed security guards after learning that armed security guards are not allowed in West Hollywood businesses without a special permit.
Public Speaker Aaron Kamin, who is a resident of Los Angeles, but actually lives near the West Hollywood city limits, called Doughbrik’s a terrible neighbor. “We urge you to deny Doughbrik’s application for extended hours,” he said. “…their complete disregard for our community and their own is evident in the way their customers and employees have treated our streets like a playground. Carney’s restaurant, Saddle Ranch and countless local residents can attest to that fact.”
Commissioner Yusupov acknowledged the complaints, but he said he thought this was an opportunity for the business to address these issues in exchange for an extended hour. He suggested adding an amendment to give them a temporary license for six months and revisit the approval of an extended license.
Commissioner Eng agreed with Commissioner Yusupov that this was an opportunity for the business to rectify their issues. She also acknowledged that it’s a new business that has been open for six months and has already had five complaints, which she said was a lot. She said she didn’t think the communication flow was thorough enough. She thought it was best to allow the business to correct the issues and return to the commission at a later date.
Commissioner Hang said he supports local businesses and wants to see these businesses grow. However, he was concerned with the issues that came up at the hearing for this particular business. He too agreed with Commissioner Yusupov to approve and re-evaluate the request in six months.
Commissioner Eisenberg said she was aligned with Commissioner Eng in that the business is fairly new and already has a lot of issues. She also said she didn’t feel the supervision of the restaurant is where it should be and she was concerned that they weren’t aware about the rules of armed guards in West Hollywood.
Doughbrik’s Pizza comes from popular YouTuber David Dobrik, with millions of subscribers and billions of views on his video platform, as well as millions of followers on Instagram. Dobrik partnered with Lemonade founders Alan Jackson and Ian Olsen as well as entrepreneur Ilya Fedorovich.
Doughbrik’s Pizza opened in West Hollywood on November 2022. Their current hours of operations are Sunday through Wednesday 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., and Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. The do not have a liquor license.
We all know as residents that complaints to a business about bad business practices are often unheard by the city and completely ignored by the offending businesses. They are however being heard by this commission from residents and other neighboring businesses and rightly being acted upon. Let the applicant deal with their shortcomings then be rewarded with extra hours of operations. Do better, Doughbriks.
The takeaway from this hearing ing is that the city of WeHo is NOT a business friendly city. The barrage of questions and aggression on display last night by the commission was shameful. Meanwhile all the business was asking for was one measly extra hour to sell a slice of pizza. Do better West Hollywood.