Dear Editor,
Santa Monica has spent years discussing economic recovery, support for local businesses, and revitalizing the Pier. Yet one of the Pier’s largest restaurant spaces continues to sit vacant while a project capable of creating more than 50 jobs remains at a standstill.
My name is Sean Ahaus, founder of California Roadhouse, Inc. For more than a year, we have worked with the City of Santa Monica to open a new California-themed restaurant and live music venue at 256 Santa Monica Pier. We remain ready to invest, hire, and open our doors. The remaining obstacle is not financing, construction, or our willingness to move forward. It is an unresolved dispute over labor-related provisions in the City’s proposed lease.
We believe those provisions go beyond the City’s traditional role as a landlord and instead attempt to regulate aspects of the employer-employee relationship that are governed by state and federal labor law. Whether people ultimately agree with our legal position or not, the public deserves to know why these issues have prevented a major public property from reopening.
For months we have requested meetings with City officials to discuss these concerns and seek a practical resolution. We believe these issues can be resolved through good-faith negotiations. Instead, the process has remained stalled while workers, taxpayers, nearby businesses, and visitors continue paying the price.
Every month this property remains vacant represents another month of lost employment opportunities, reduce economic activity, and unrealized tax revenue. At a time when many Santa Monica businesses continue facing economic challenges, unnecessary delays should concern everyone who wants to see the Pier thrive.
I appreciate Councilmember Lana Negrete for meeting with us and listening to our concerns. Public officials do not have to agree with every constituent, but they should be willing to engage in meaningful dialogue. That willingness to listen strengthens public trust.
I also believe greater transparency would benefit everyone involved. Residents deserve to understand how these disputed lease provisions were developed, why they remain necessary, and whether outside organizations influenced the City’s negotiating position. Open government requires openness about decisions that affect the public.
This discussion is larger than California Roadhouse. It raises broader questions about how Santa Monica encourages investment, creates jobs, and balances competing public interests while respecting established law.
California Roadhouse remains prepared to sign a lawful lease immediately and begin creating jobs, generating tax revenue, and bringing new entertainment to the Pier. We hope City leaders will return to productive negotiations so this long-vacant property can finally become an asset for the entire community.
Santa Monica deserves a thriving Pier, thriving local businesses, and a government that embraces transparency, accountability, and constructive dialogue.
Sincerely,
Sean Ahaus
Founder
California Roadhouse, Inc.
