Laurel District bar loses liquor license following sting

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Apr 3, 2009 | by Angela Woodall

The state agency that regulates liquor sales is revoking the license of a Laurel District cocktail lounge that Oakland officials have been trying to shut down because of what court documents claimed were violent and illegal activities.

The Seven Seas cocktail lounge at 4001 MacArthur Blvd. will lose its liquor license Monday after owners agreed to buy cases of purportedly stolen alcohol from undercover California Alcoholic Beverage Control agents during a Nov. 19 sting.

Seven Seas employee Teresa Kanhai was arrested Nov. 19 for accepting purported stolen property, according to the ABC. Owner Sun Cha Kanhai surrendered to charges of receiving purported stolen property while co-owner William J. Kanhai was cited and released, ABC spokesman John Carr said. Another employee was arrested inside the bar for possession of methamphetamines, Carr said.

In January, ABC also revoked the license of the adjacent Seagull Market, 4005 MacArthur Blvd., as a result of the same undercover operation, City Attorney John Russo's office said.

Alton Lee Jones Jr., operator of the Seagull Market, was charged with receiving purported stolen property and possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, Carr said.

Both businesses, on property owned by Kiet Nhan Hoang and Vi Chi Hoang, were badly damaged Wednesday by an early morning fire that is under investigation by the Oakland fire and police departments' arson inspectors. The blaze swept through the two buildings shortly before the ABC was originally scheduled to post the revocation of Seven Seas' license. The lounge had shut down the day before the fire.

ABC launched the investigation after multiple incidents erupted at Seven Seas, including gunfights, drug activity, multiple assaults and loitering, according to a preliminary injunction filed March 19 by the City Attorney's office. The bar also sold alcohol to an undercover, underage decoy on April 10, 2007, according to the court documents.

The city had already filed a public nuisance action against Seven Seas as well as the property owners. The city's lawsuit, based on work by Oakland police investigators, was filed in response to repeated incidents of violence at the Seven Seas, including three shootings in the space of one year that began as disputes inside the bar and spilled out into the neighborhood.

The closure of the Seven Seas is part of a joint effort by the state and the city that has lasted for years to shut down or clean up problem liquor stores and bars in Oakland. No other business that sells alcohol can operate at either location without approval by the city of Oakland.

Reach staff writer Angela Woodall at 510-208-6413 or awoodall@bayareanewsgroup.com.