Tell me about it. But I still look at desert houses most days. 
Rules for thee not me: threat or menace!
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Once a thread goes off-topic enough to split off, I don’t care what people talk about so long as it’s not trolling, hate speech, spam, or the like.
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Was told (did not personally verify) BM stopped serving liquor today.
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Heard the same today as well.
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Or not. Guess this wasn’t a frivolous tangent after all.
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Clayfu posted the details of their license above. Presumably the situation is more complicated.
Yes. Someone on Next Door who had a reservation for last night shared the text message they got from the restaurant informing them of that.
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Liquor or alcohol?
Micro influencers are running with the story now
(I hate that I just used the term micro influencer but I don’t know what else to call them)
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Those are the old owners from the liquor store days.
Here’s the latest case info.
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I misread the date.
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Insufferable douchebags?
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There are two pending licenses for that address. Both are on hold for form 220, which could reflect the city issue or protests or something else.
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Coincidentally, I happened to speak with a literal expert on Los Angeles alcohol permitting today. This sort of thing is all he does all day long. It is crystal clear that Beethoven Market is not legally authorized to sell alcohol right now, but it is also quite odd how some of the events unfolded.
In order to legally sell alcohol in Los Angeles, a restaurant must have BOTH:
- A state authorization from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC)
- A local land use authorization from the City of Los Angeles
Beethoven Market’s only local authorization to sell alcohol was through the Restaurant Beverage Program (RBP). When their RBP authorization was terminated on December 18, and without holding a CUP, they immediately ceased to have any legal authorization to sell alcohol, regardless of whether they had an ABC permit. That’s the ballgame.
But it’s still worthwhile to trace what has transpired with their ABC permits, as it tells an interesting story.
The Old License
The previous incarnation of Beethoven Market had a Type 21 Off-Sale General License, which allows for purchase of any type of alcohol for consumption off the premises. That license expired on 7/31/25, shortly after the new Beethoven Market opened, but regardless would not have allowed on-site consumption.
The Transfer Attempt
The new owners attempted to obtain a Type 47 On-Sale General Eating Place License in early 2024, long before the restaurant opened. They did so by purchasing and transferring an existing Type 47 license from FULL OF FLAVOR, LLC, an entity controlled by Peter Trinh (most notably of Lanea). That license was originally for his now-shuttered Santa Monica restaurant Cult.
Crucially, the license was being transferred from a different premises. This is called a premises-to-premises transfer.
The Holds
Three holds were placed on the license transfer, of varying significance.
- Board of Equalization Hold (1/2/24): Pertains to outstanding tax liabilities. Very common with transfers.
- Form 220 Hold (2/15/24): ABC’s licensing investigation is ongoing. Relatively normal, not necessarily alarming.
- H&L Protest (5/29/24): A formal protest was filed against the application. This is the troublesome one.
Interim/Temporary Permits
While the transfer was pending, Beethoven Market was issued several stopgap permits:
- 1st Interim Operating Permit: 2/19/25 – 6/18/25 (120 days)
- 2nd Interim Operating Permit: 6/19/25 – 10/16/25 (120 days)
- 3rd Temporary Permit: 10/17/25 – 2/13/26 (120 days)
Here’s where it gets weird.
@Clayfu posted a screenshot showing the third permit issued on 10/17/25 was labeled as a “Temporary” permit. I went on the website at that time and saw it with my own eyes as well.
If you go on right now, that Temporary Permit is gone. No mention of it being voided or canceled, just completely missing from the license details page. It appears ABC may have realized the permit was improperly issued and quietly purged it from the system.
For a premises-to-premises transfer like this one, the applicable permit is an Interim Operating Permit, issued when ABC recommends approval despite a pending protest. Interim permits are valid for 120 days and can be extended up to one time at the discretion of ABC.
There’s a different permit called a Temporary Operating Permit, which is only available for person-to-person transfers at the same premises. Since Beethoven was moving a license from a different address, they should never have been eligible for a Temporary Operating Permit. I have confirmed that this Temporary Operating Permit was issued improperly, which is why it has disappeared from the ABC website. Though, in my opinion, disappearing an issued permit, even if issued incorrectly, is wrong. It should stay on the site as a public record and says something like “Voided - Improperly Issued”.
There’s another possibility here, which is that the Temporary Permit was just a mislabeled Interim Operating Permit. But if that is the case, then that too was invalid, since as mentioned an Interim Operating Permit can only be extended one time for a total of the original 120 and an extended 120 days (240 days total). On 10/16/25 when the first Interim Operating Permit expired, Beethoven Market was no longer eligible for additional Interim Operating Permits.
The New Application
Perhaps recognizing the transfer was in trouble, Beethoven Market applied for a completely new Type 47 license in September 2025, an original application rather than a transfer. That application has a Form 220 hold (investigation ongoing) and remains pending.
Where Things Stand
At the state level: the transfer has been stalled by an unresolved protest for 20 months, their permits appear to have been exhausted (or improperly issued), and their backup application for a new license is still under investigation. The termination of the RBP for cause will be a black mark on their attempts to obtain a permanent ABC license, though whether it makes it implausible or just less likely I can not say.
At the local level: none of it matters. With neither an RBP nor a CUP, they can’t legally sell alcohol in LA even if ABC handed them a license tomorrow.
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Thanks for your sleuthing and in depth analysis hope they get it sorted out by all accounts it is loved by the general public.
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I have learned so much from reading all of this.
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Most if not all California counties have limits on how many Type 47 (restaurant serving beer, wine, and liquor vs. Type 41 beer and wine only) licenses can be issued. That’s why premises-to-premised transfers are so common: in many places, all the available Type 47 licenses have been issued, so the only way to get one is to buy one from somebody. That’s also why most restaurants opt for beer and wine only: there are typically no limits and consequently it’s cheaper.
LA Type 47 licenses are currently advertised for sale for $75,000.
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