Colossus Bread could lose all of its seating amid months-long permitting battle
The bustling bakery, which offers brunch and pizza, has already reduced its hours and will convert to takeout-only if it can't come into compliance with state code.
Lately, Kristin Colazas Rodriguez's thoughts haven't been on rising dough or the golden loaves emerging from the kitchen of her popular Belmont Shore bakery Colossus Bread. After being directed to remove all the bakery's seating, she's been consumed by the looming uncertainty that has turned her cafe into a battleground of city bureaucracy.
The bustling bakery has provided seating since it opened in 2021, but not having a restroom for customers is a violation of the California Retail Food Code — except during the period when it operated under a temporary pandemic-era outdoor dining permit.
Rodriguez asserts she's received conflicting messages from various city departments since opening in 2021 about whether or not she needs to comply with an updated state code the previous business in the space did not.
Last month, Rodriguez announced reduced hours at the bakery, igniting a firestorm among loyal customers who don’t just see the small space as a place to grab a loaf of bread, but as a communal space to gather and enjoy the company of others. A Change.org petition to "save Colossus seating area" gathered nearly 600 signatures.
In an attempt to stave off community outrage and help the business come into compliance, city staff recently gave Rodriguez an extension to submit construction plans or remove all seating by Sept. 16. Despite the effort, the tumultuous saga between the bakery and the city over permitting issues could result in Colossus converting to takeout only.
"This has been a long and arduous battle since the beginning and we fought so hard to hold on to the very little space we have left. Unfortunately, it seems we have lost," Rodriguez wrote on Instagram last month.
Currently, the bakery has a handful of outdoor seats available at a wooden bar in front of the business. These seats are a hot commodity during peak hours as the bakery quickly became a popular breakfast and lunch destination. More recently, the small patio was a place to enjoy pizza and wine in the evenings.
"Since Colossus was originally permitted as a 'to-go' only food facility, the addition of on-site dining has prompted the need to comply with the State code," a spokesperson from the city's Health and Human Services Department said in an email.
Over the past month, Rodriguez has been scrambling to find a solution that won't force her to lay off staff or close her business for an extended period.
"It's a bit of a weird situation. I'm not really sure what we're going to do," Rodriguez said, adding this week that she and her husband would take the weekend to consider their options.
Communication breakdown leads to compromise
Colossus was granted its extension last week to secure a loan and submit plans for a restroom, following a previous extension that expired Aug. 26, health department officials told the Watchdog. The new extension — which Rodriguez said she was not informed of — also offers a compromise that the previous one did not: she will be allowed to stay open if she secures the loan and submits the restroom plans.
Meanwhile, the bakery has already removed the shade over the patio and two other tables that Public Works said were encroaching on their neighbor, the UPS Store.
"We may decide to remove the seats in the meantime," Rodriguez said in a text message on Wednesday. “With reduced seating and no shade, it feels like we are stuck in a weird limbo that isn't comfortable for us or our guests. But it's nice to know I have a little time to decide.”
Rodriguez says it would take a costly remodel to make her restroom, which is tucked behind the kitchen, accessible to customers or add a new one.
"We definitely don't have the funds to do that right now," Rodriguez said. "We would either have to take out a loan or find an investor. I still own 100% of the business and it's great because I get to make all the decisions...I get to prioritize things like health care and our pay structure."
During a meeting with health department officials on Aug. 16, Rodriguez said she was directed to the city's Economic Development Department, where she could apply for a loan that would, ideally, cover the cost of drafting a construction plan. But Rodriguez is concerned whether she’ll qualify for a big enough loan.
"[The loan] does require collateral and I'm a little worried about that," Rodriguez said Tuesday, adding that she and her husband do not own a home. "Hopefully, we qualify."
"And if I don't get that loan? I'll have to close my business,” she continued.
In recent weeks, residents and customers have heaved their frustrations at the city and even pointed a finger at Mayor Rex Richardson, accusing him of tying a local business owner's hands with red tape and needless bureaucracy.
But Public Works, the health department and the mayor himself have offered Rodriguez a congruent explanation: the matter is simply out of their hands.
"We know Colossus is a well-loved regional business and want to support all of our small businesses, and we continue to work with them on potential solutions," said Jennifer Rice Epstein, a spokesperson for the city's health department.
"I do think, however, that it’s important to note that matters like this are not up to our own discretion; as an accredited Health jurisdiction, we are obligated to follow state laws," she added.
Unpermitted seating raises questions amid Shady Grove precedent
The Colossus situation harkens back to another recent months-long fight over permitting between the city and Shady Grove Foods, which ultimately forced its owners to close their popular barbecue restaurant on Fourth Street. In Shady Grove’s case, the battle was over an on-site smoker grill, which the health department said was never permitted. The issue was only raised after the department received multiple complaints from the eatery's neighbors.
But how was Colossus able to operate with unpermitted seating for nearly three and a half years?
Rice Epstein says it wasn't until the health department conducted a routine inspection in June 2023 that the city noticed the unpermitted seating — and lack of customer bathroom.
One year later, Rice Epstein said the department discovered the issue hadn't been corrected. In July, Public Works received a sidewalk dining permit request, which was denied since the business doesn't meet the state restroom requirement, Rice Epstein said.
La Strada, the Italian eatery that operated within the space for 27 years before Colossus moved in, did have indoor and outdoor seating that was grandfathered in because it was built before the state code requirement was in place. Rodriguez, however, says she was told months after taking over the lease that her updates to the kitchen meant she would have to adhere to the 2004 update to the state code.
"The health department came in and they said, 'no, no, no, you've changed too much,'" Rodriguez said. "And I said 'We didn't. The whole kitchen is the same, we didn't do construction. It's all original, you know, it's old."
"We've got the guts of an old restaurant that's being held up to this modern restaurant bathroom code," Rodriguez added. "And that's what it's all ultimately boiling down to."
Costly setbacks and risks taken leave Colossus in limbo
Due to conflicting messages from health and Public Works officials, Rodriguez admits she took a risk by installing seating.
Initially, Colossus had a few small tables inside and a small streetside patio with a row of seats. But two years into operating this way, Rodriguez says a new health inspector from the city informed her that she would have to remove the indoor seating. After that, the bakery pivoted from serving coffee in mugs and meals on ceramic plates to takeout boxes and paper cups.
A spokesperson from Public Works said the bakery was asked to obtain a permit and modify its setup, as it was installed without the required permit — a permit La Strada had before removing its outdoor patio in 2021 when Rodriguez took over and the sidewalk's right-of-way was restored.
Public Works says such permits are not transferable and must be renewed annually.
During the application process, the health department informed Rodriguez that she wouldn't be able to have seating since the bakery did not have a restroom accessible to customers. Yet Rodriguez says representatives from Public Works didn't seem phased by her bakery's lack of a restroom during a recent inspection.
"And that was sort of when this all kind of snowballed, [both departments] independently decided that we couldn't have the seating," she said.
Shortly after, Public Works officially denied Colossus's application for a Public Walkways Permit, which cost Rodriguez $3,429, plus around $5,000 for the architect hired to draw up the plans required for the application.
"We were like 'OK, can we have our money back?'" she said. "And [the inspector] was like 'no, services have been rendered.'"
That's when Rodriguez turned to the community and her customers to share details about the situation.
"We opened our little San Pedro space 6 months before the pandemic, and opened our hometown space here at its height, so we are no stranger to pivots, trial and tribulation," Rodriguez wrote in a letter posted inside the bakery last month.
Since opening in 2021, Rodriguez says there has always been a lingering uncertainty around whether her Belmont Shore location was beholden to updated building codes or if it could remain grandfathered into the older version of the state code that would have allowed her to operate without a restroom. Now, she says the application of the updated code against her business feels "arbitrary."
Losing her bakery's seating "was always a possibility," she admits. City officials, meanwhile, maintain that they are working with the bakery by allowing Rodriguez to keep her seating if she can submit official construction plans by the extended deadline.
"They have some options and we are working with them as they get a plan into place," Epstein said earlier this month.
"We've had some productive conversations," Rodriguez said. "Hopefully, we can keep moving it forward."
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