Revelry at Clement Street Restaurant Riles Residents, Merchants

photo: John Oppenheimer

Ilga Viner is the proprietor at the Russian Bear Restaurant.

By George McConnell 

Late-night partying at a neighborhood restaurant has residents and merchants on Clement Street abuzz.

The center of the controversy is the Russian Bear Restaurant, located on Clement Street near 11th Avenue.

For several years, the large two-story eatery has been renting out its second floor banquet room for social functions. According to one long-time area resident, who requested anonymity because of fear of reprisals, many of the attendees would congregate outside during the evening and make a lot of noise, urinate in doorways, engage in fisticuffs and race their cars up and down Clement Street.

"I've seen lots of adults standing around outside fighting and screaming and drinking. There were often as many as 100 people very nicely dressed out in the streets in the early morning hours and once I heard one of them say, 'I've got a gun,'" the source said.

"When there were parties, the police had extra patrol cars on the scene and they would have to direct traffic. The restaurant had private security, but after 2 a.m. they would leave and the commotion would continue on until much later."

About two years ago, however, the source said, more youth-oriented events, such as college parties and hip hop dances, started taking place at the restaurant. Some of the parties were advertised with cards and flyers handed out on the street, attracting hundreds of people.

Merchants in the area contacted for this story confirmed the problems created by the parties, but did not want to be identified because they also feared possible reprisal.  In an unrelated incident two years ago, a restaurant in the neighborhood was fire-bombed in a suspected gang-related clash.

"If the parties are well-controlled, I don't have anything against them," stated one of the merchants.

Ilga Viner, the owner of the Russian Bear, said she and her husband had signed an agreement with an outside party promoter to hold events shortly after they bought the restaurant two years ago.

"The parties generally start around 10 p.m., and sometimes there are lines to get in. We have soundproof windows. We don't have absolute control over the events, but we've never had any problems inside the restaurant," Viner said.

Just before Easter weekend, one of the merchants reported a particularly serious incident at his store. He said partygoers swarmed into the store one night and caused havoc, created messes and engaged in shoplifting. The incident was captured on the store's video surveillance system. He showed the tape to members of the Clement Street Merchants Association and filed a report with the police department.

The Clement Street Merchants Association covers Clement Street between Arguello Boulevard and 33rd Avenue, and they have been active in the area for many years.

After that incident, he said police increased patrols in the area, including stationing a patrol car directly in front of the store. On one occasion, he said officers instructed him to close the store and turn out the lights.

"I contacted the owner of the restaurant about the problem and she apologized and said she would try and provide advance notice about events, but it didn't work out," the storeowner said.

"There is lots of private security during the events, but we cannot patrol the entire neighborhood. Whenever we receive complaints, we always invite people in to talk to us," Viner said.

About three months ago, however, some of the revelers roamed up and down Clement Street vandalizing parking meters and street gratings and, in one case, broke a store's window. This galvanized area merchants and residents to file a complaint with the police.

Because of the continuing problems, the merchants association placed the issue on its agenda for discussion at their Feb. 17 meeting.

At the meeting, Richmond District Police Capt. Sandra Tong announced that the parties had been shut down because the restaurant did not have the appropriate permit.

"The restaurant has a permit, but they don't have a permit for the parties," Tong said.

Viner confirmed that the restaurant's entertainment permit had been listed in the name of the previous owner.

"We found out it was not transferable and we are applying for a new permit under our name," she said.

The Entertainment Commission is scheduled to consider the application at a hearing at City Hall, in Room 406, on May 17, at 5 p.m. For more information, call (415) 554-4539.