Wild Goose Chase

Safari Sam’s nears the end of an adventure in city inspection hurdles.
by Lucinda Michele Knapp

Apparently, city officials are happier with a creepy strip club blighting an East Hollywood neighborhood than with a music venue rehabilitating it.

At least, that’s what it seemed like.

Safari Sam’s-the storied punk-rock venue kicked out of Huntington Beach 20 years ago-has been poised to open for months at its freshly renovated East Hollywood location, 5214 Sunset Blvd., the former home of Tulips strip club. Owners Sam and Cathi Lanni, who dreamed of re-opening Safari Sam’s in Los Angeles for years, thought they were finally ready to celebrate months ago, when the last round of inspections were slated. Instead, the couple has spent the last few months (nearly two years since the renovation began) with an empty club and a lot of red tape that they claim is the result of an inefficient inspection process that unfairly restricts small business owners.

According to Sam Lanni, they’ve sunk over $900,000 on the project, over half of which went toward city fees, filings and permits. Last week they put their house up for sale to come up with the additional $50,000 they say they need to keep the project afloat.

But last week, just as the Lannis said they were ready to give up, someone started listening.

On Monday, March 6th, a spokesperson for City Council President Eric Garcetti, whose district Safari Sam’s falls in, said they’d received about 170 e-mails from constituents regarding the venue’s troubles. Josh Kaminski, Communications Director for Garcetti, said the club’s biggest snag had been their firewall inspection. After Lanni contacted Garcetti’s office directly last week, it was able to help speed up the return inspection.

“There were some particular snags in the system that don’t happen to all small businesses, that we’ve learned from,” said Kaminski. “But it’s not ’cause the Man hates punk rock.”

“I have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of kindness and financial help in the past week,” Sam Lanni said on Wednesday March 8th. “We have had so many petitions signed and sent to Eric Garcetti’s office resulting in positive movement from the inspectors.”

The Lannis say their alcohol license is still pending and that the financial burdens of remaining closed continue to present a problem.

The blighted stretch of Sunset where the new club sits has had many problems in the last decade, and local police say they are thrilled to have Tulips-a magnet for crime and drugs-gone, and in its place, a likely destination for legal nightlife.

“We definitely want to help,” said Kaminski. “We think Safari Sam’s will be a great addition to East Hollywood, and we’re doing everything we can to help.”

“Property owners weren’t investing [in the area]; the community was spiraling down,” said Leron Gubler, president of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. But in the case of Safari Sam’s, a small business owner has taken it into his own hands to invest-to the tune of $900,000, no less-and he says local agencies presented nothing but road blocks.

“Is it the fault of the permit process that has been established?” asks Lanni. “Probably. Is it the fault of inspectors who seem to find innocuous problems and then take their time to return to make further inspections of our corrections? Probably… The price is reflected when we see mostly national chains and franchises open their doors. Who else can afford the wait?”

Through generous donations and investments from concerned supporters, Safari Sam’s may open as soon as next week. But according to Lanni, the $16,400 they’ve raised in the last few weeks is about half of what it will take to pay the latest bills. LAA

Learn more about Safari Sam’s opening at www.safari-sams.com.