Planning Commission extends hours, limits entertainment at new restaurant

The Downey Planning Commission unanimously approved plans to amend operating hours and allow for live entertainment at a new restaurant currently in development.

The Mexican eatery, called Distrito, will sit in the space formerly occupied by the Corleone restaurant at 12056 Paramount Blvd. The building has been vacant for approximately 1 1/2 years.

Originally, the recommended hours of operation were 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday through Sunday. The restaurant owner requested to extend operating hours, by pushing back the closing times to 12 a.m. Monday through Thursday, and to 2 a.m. Friday through Sunday.

At Wednesday’s meeting, however, the planning commission and the restaurant were forced to meet somewhere in the middle.

The restaurant’s newly approved operating hours will be 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. Friday through Saturday, and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.

The restaurant’s patio area will also have specific hours of use, operating from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday through Saturday.

Live entertainment will be limited to the weekends, limited to four string musicians who cannot be amplified from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sundays.

The vote passed unanimously with a 4-0 vote, with one commissioner absent.