Illegal business has `a lot to answer for'
9 people were shot, 1 fatally, at hookah lounge Tha Blu Flame on Friday
Days after a fatal shooting where nine people were shot, one fatally, the city has shut down an unregistered hookah lounge and red-tagged it for operating an unsafe and improper food business.
According to the city, Tha Blu Flame was operating without a business license before the shooting late Friday.
Mayor John Valdivia has directed the city manager and city attorney to begin in earnest the process of shutting the business down permanently, he said by phone Tuesday. And, he added, the business owner and the owner of the Highland
Square shopping center should cover all overtime costs stemming from the shooting and the ongoing investigation.
“Somebody should be on the hook,” Valdivia said.
The owner of the business has not been identified. The commercial center where Tha Blu Flame is located, at 3606 Highland Ave., is co-owned by Highland Star LLC and C/O SITA World Group, according to the San Bernardino County assessor.
City zoning, building and operating codes and regulations are in place to ensure the health, safety, security and well-being of the business operator, their
employees and customers, according to city spokesman Jeff Kraus.
“This business appears to have made a conscious decision to operate outside of those parameters every step of the way, and we saw the results,” Kraus wrote in an email Monday.
“Tha Blu Flame operators have a lot to answer for,” he said.
According to police, flyers and social media announcements advertised a party Friday at the hookah lounge.
A temporary/event permit had not been requested for the evening, Kraus said.
When the shooting broke out, partygoers scattered. Gunfire continued outside.
There were at least 100people there when officers arrived, police said.
Allen Grisham Jr., 20, of San Bernardino, was killed.
The others hit by gunfire did not have life-threatening injuries, police said.
In the wake of the deadly shooting, city officials discovered that tenant improvements at Tha Blu Flame were not permitted or inspected, Kraus said, and no entitlements had been approved or applied for. City planning,
building and safety, and finance officials continue to investigate whether there are additional code violations.
Hookah lounges are not permitted in SanBernardino unless less than 10% of the premises is dedicated to the use, display or sale of product.
It is unclear how long Tha Blu Flame had been open.
San Bernardino officials
at this time intend to engage with applicable county, state and other regulatory agencies “to hold the business operators accountable,” Kraus said. “To the extent possible, the city will hold the property owner accountable as well.”
City and police officials are working to ensure the hookah lounge remains permanently closed, Kraus said.
In the interim, investigators are focusing on identifying and apprehending the shooter or shooters. Additional crimes, including any committed by the property or business owner, could be identified during the probe.
Ongoing investigations by city code enforcement, building and safety, and other departments could result in fines for the business or property
owner for non-compliance, Kraus said.
It is incumbent upon all business owners to make sure they have the appropriate documents to operate in town, Valdivia said. Additionally, the mayor said, city leaders “should be actively engaged in their business corridors” to learn of any issues concerning illegal operators.