Cinema Bar to reopen after DUI suspension

The Cinema Bar at 3967 Sepulveda Blvd. has had its license suspended for 20 days by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control after it was ruled that the bar served an underage customer who would later be involved in a car crash that result ed in two deaths. As reported on Patch.com, the suspension followed a Target Responsibility for Alcohol Connected Emergencies investigation. “ABC suspended the license because Cinema Bar furnished alcohol to 20-year-old Bianca Lopez of Los Angeles,” the agency said. Later that evening, on April 24, 2021, Lopez got on the 101 freeway and was involved in a crash that killed a 50-year-old man and a 15-year-old boy from Santa Maria. “Preventing underage drinking and driving is a public safety priority,” ABC Director Eric Hirata said in a statement. “ABC licensees must remain vigilant and check identifications carefully to prevent these tragedies from happening.” A post on the Cinema Bar’s website reads: “The Cinema Bar is temporarily closed. We expect to reopen on Feb. 21, 2022.” Many local residents are unhappy with what they view as a lenient suspension, given the fact that people died. “The fact that they served a minor is one thing that should give them a min 45 to 90 days suspension,” said Debra Montgomery on Facebook. “But they continued to serve her till she was wasted enough to wreck into another vehicle and kill 2 people. That’s two violations! No justice, just a hand slap.”