Sebastopol restaurant Piala from Lowell Sheldon to open despite sexual harassment allegations

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Lowell Sheldon and two partners won an alcohol use permit to open Piala, a Georgian restaurant in Sebastopol.

Provided by Lowell Sheldon

A new wine bar co-owned by a controversial restaurateur cleared a final hurdle on Wednesday to open in Sebastopol, though the owners presence remains a divisive flash point in the small Wine Country city.

The Sebastopol City Council unanimously upheld the Planning Commissions recent approval of Pialas alcohol use permit and in doing so denied an appeal filed by Jesse Hom-Dawson, who represents a group of women who previously accused co-owner Lowell Sheldon of sexual harassment or creating a toxic work environment but imposed additional limitations on Sheldon.

He will not be able to consume or serve alcohol at Piala at 7233 Healdsburg Ave., as the Planning Commission previously decided. In addition, during business hours, he can dine there solely as a customer he cant work or enter the kitchen, for example. But when Piala is closed and no employees are present, Sheldon will be allowed free reign at the restaurant as long as co-owner Jeffrey Berlin is there to supervise him.

After debating the issue for several hours, city councilmembers granted Pialas alcohol use permit despite some reservations. This echoed the Planning Commissions deliberations and the challenging dynamic of a government body dealing with sexual harassment allegations.

I do think this is an imperfect body for solving this problem, councilmember Una Glass said. But when there is no obvious vehicle for solving these kinds of problems, then government, particularly local government, has the responsibility to take a position that its going to use the tools it has at hand to prevent these kinds of problems from happening in the future .

In the appeal, Hom-Dawson argued that Sheldon had not provided sufficient proof as required by city code that his presence at the Georgian wine bar and restaurant would not harm the health, safety and welfare of the broader community. She also said that it would be near impossible to monitor Sheldons drinking at Piala, and that tasking Berlin whose livelihood is relating on Mr. Sheldons behavior with that monitoring was unrealistic. Planning commissioners previously suggested that members of the public would help enforce the ban on his alcohol consumption at Piala by sending photos to city staff.

The liability for approving this unenforceable license is too high to risk another person being harmed, Hom-Dawson said on Wednesday.

Councilmembers largely said they areconfident the conditions can be enforced, but added a requirement that city staff review Pialas alcohol use permit more frequently than is typical: quarterly for the first two quarters that the restaurant is open and then every six months after that. The Sebastopol Police Department can also perform spot checks, said Sebastopol Planning Director Kari Svanstrom. She noted that code enforcement complaints are confidential, in response to Hom-Dawsons concern that Piala employees may not feel comfortable or safe reporting their employer to local officials.

If the conditions are violated, Svanstrom now has the authority to revoke Pialas alcohol use permit. Larry McLaughlin, Sebastopol city attorney and manager, called this a very, very strong condition that to my recollection is basically unprecedented.

Pialas opening has struck an emotional chord in Sebastopol. More than 200 pages of public comment, both in support and opposition, accompanied the agenda for the City Councils special meeting on Wednesday. It included a letter signed by 13 of Sheldons former employees who believe that he created a toxic workplace in all the restaurants that he had ownership in.

Fern Bar owner Sam Levy, who cut ties with Sheldon at the Sebastopol restaurant after sexual harassment allegations, described in a letter to the council Sheldons damaging and dangerous influence.

The only thing that worked for us to protect our team and community was a complete removal from access to the restaurant then when possible a redemption of his shares in the business, Levy wrote.

The agenda also included a length Aug. 23 letter from Sheldon in which he denied the allegations. On Wednesday, he reiterated that, telling the City Council, I dont harass people, drunk or sober. Never have, never will.

When a government body such as the planning commission or city council steps outside its ordinary purview and attempts to sort fact from fiction based on character attacks and unproven allegations, it can easily lose its way, he added.

The owners plan to open Piala in late September.

Elena Kadvany (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected]

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