Business & Tech

San Gennaro Cafe Cited for Alcohol Violations, Closes After 26 Years

Italian restaurant in Brentwood Village is closed after receiving two complaints in 2012 for serving alcohol without a license, according to the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control.

Sen Gennaro Cafe, located at 140 South Barrington Place in Brentwood Village, was cited by the state on Jan. 25 for its second violation of selling alcohol without a license and an eviction notice dated Jan. 30 is posted on its front door.

A note posted next to the eviction notice thanks the community for 26 great years in Brentwood. The Italian-style restaurant located in Culver City reportedly also closed years ago, according to Yelp.

John Carr, spokesman for the California Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, told Patch Wednesday Sen Gennaro's license to serve alcohol was revoked on Feb. 12, 2012 for not paying the annual fee renewal. It was issued Dec. 16, 1987.

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"Once a location doesn’t have a license, we take any disciplinary action against someone [serving] without a license," he said, noting they forward the misdemeanor complaints to the district attorney's office.

"We received complaints in the community about this location," he said.

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The department visited Sen Gennaro Cafe in October 2012 and, after receiving more complaints in December, returned Jan. 25, both times citing owner Linda Handal for selling alcohol without a license.

Handal and her husband Jay managed the restaurant. Jay Handal is listed as chairman of the West Los Angeles Neighborhood Council.

Calls and emails made in attempts to contact the owners were not returned. The phone numbers in Brentwood and Culver City are disconnected.

The lights were off at the Brentwood storefront Wednesday night. Two returning patrons stopped short surprised to see the restaurant closed, saying they had been coming for years. One person said it was one of the last reasonably-priced places get to a good Italian meal.

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