City Council to consider another attempt to prevent liquor license for Lowell Sheldon’s new Sebastopol restaurant

Months of heated debate continues to unfold over the opening of Piala Georgian Cuisine, a new Sebastopol wine bar and restaurant venture by local restaurateur Lowell Sheldon, who’s been accused of sexual harassment.

At a special meeting Aug. 31, the Sebastopol City Council will consider an appeal filed by a group of former employees protesting the city planning officials’ approval of the business’ liquor license based on Sheldon’s alleged history of inappropriate workplace behavior and his response to accusations.

“We only seek to keep our community safe and prevent any future harm,” the appeal stated.

Piala Permit Approval Appeal Statement.pdf

Tuesday morning, Sheldon sent a 2,200-word statement to the city of Sebastopol and his email list, detailing his “side of the story,” he wrote in a preface.

In May, the Planning Department initially denied Piala’s alcohol permit after former employees and others raised concerns about risks to community health, safety and welfare — factors weighed in granting a license — given the allegations against co-owner Sheldon, which reportedly often involved alcohol.

Ultimately, after hours of emotional testimony, hundreds of pages of written community support and opposition and weeks of back-and-forth negotiations at and between public hearings, in July, planning commissioners and staff reversed course and approved the liquor license.

There was a condition: Sheldon would be barred from managing employees and serving or consuming alcohol at Piala for at least one year.

The restaurant also will retain an outside HR firm to handle all worker complaints.

A primary basis for his detractors’ appeal is skepticism over the enforceability of the conditions, given that reporting of transgressions would primarily be left up to Sheldon and his business partners, employees, and patrons. Those individuals, the appeal noted, are unlikely to “be the community that would be willing to monitor this.”

“When the provisions are considered in a realistic manner, it is clear that they place an unfair burden on the community,” the appeal said. “It is not the responsibility of the community or the offender or offender’s business partner to enforce these provisions, it is the city’s responsibility. And if they cannot enforce those provisions, then the first approval should be overturned.”

Last September, 11 of Sheldon’s former staffers came forward with allegations, first detailed in the San Francisco Chronicle, ranging from fostering a toxic workplace environment to sexual harassment. Another woman alleged Sheldon sexually assaulted her, as reported by The Bohemian.

In the past, Sheldon has apologized and acknowledged limited wrongdoing while still disputing most of the accusations. In his Tuesday pronouncement, he took a more forceful stance: “I am innocent of all accusations of sexual harassment and assault,” he wrote.

He described being “trapped” in a societal moment “where the court of public opinion is the only one that matters.”

“If I didn’t deny the allegations, I was damned because I would be agreeing I was guilty, and if I did deny them, equally damned, because it would imply I thought that these women were lying — the most unacceptable and morally reprehensible thing to think at the time,” he wrote.

In his letter, Sheldon disputed, explained or downplayed various interactions and dynamics with his accusers, ultimately blaming a “cultural paradigm” where “having ‘power’ alone is as good as an indictment.”

“Was I always a great boss, each and every day, for 12 years? No,” he wrote. “But my deficiencies as a boss never overlapped with abusing my power.”

He also pointed to an affair with an employee, which broke up his family, that he believes got wrapped up with and fueled allegations against him.

“MeToo became a catchall term for ‘men doing bad things to women,’ whether that bad thing is sexual assault or making someone mildly uncomfortable or having an affair,” he said.

In the message to his mailing list subscribers preceding the statement, Sheldon described the path to Piala’s alcohol permit approval so far, including “appeasing the city's biased concerns.”

He painted his accusers as a select few “activists” “fighting to tear (him) down” having “sensed his vulnerability.”

Jesse Hom-Dawson, 34, one of the former employees involved in the appeal, explained the motivation in moving forward with the appeal was not to “make his life miserable,” but because, “I don’t think I would be OK with myself if something happened to someone,” she said.

“I absolutely believe people can change, and we should have forgiveness,” Hom-Dawson said in an interview the day before the letter circulated. “That should be conditioned on Lowell showing he’s done the work,” she added.

The limited time between when the allegations became public leading to Sheldon’s separation from his three restaurants and his work on other new ventures like Piala and the Freestone Hotel, for one, reflects why Hom-Dawson doesn’t think that’s the case, she said.

Instead of granting the conditional alcohol permit, the appeal to the Sebastopol City Council proposed alternatives, including denying the license for a year to allow more time for Sheldon to demonstrate reform, Sheldon removing himself from ownership or banning Sheldon from the premises.

After reading Sheldon’s communiqué, Hom-Dawson said she’s even less convinced of his willingness to take any responsibility despite the multiple allegations against him vetted by news outlets and a human resources investigation that confirmed his conduct violated work policies.

“It felt like the entire letter was saying ‘fake news,’ which I feel is what people say when they want to stick their head in the sand,” she said Tuesday. “This only exacerbates our request asking for him to wait a year, but also, part of me wonders if there’s anything that will make him do any work.”

Council will hold a special meeting by Zoom at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 31 to discuss and consider the appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision, related staff reports, public comment and other materials.

Information will be posted on the meeting event page at https://ci.sebastopol.ca.us/Meeting-Event/City-Council/2022/City-Council-Special-Meeting-August-31-2022.

“In Your Corner” is a column that puts watchdog reporting to work for the community. If you have a concern, a tip, or a hunch, you can reach “In Your Corner” Columnist Marisa Endicott at 707-521-5470 or marisa.endicott@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @InYourCornerTPD and Facebook @InYourCornerTPD.