Civic divisions between residents and restaurateurs in Hermosa Beach developed as the city became a tourist attraction in the late 1950s. Around that same time, the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control emerged as a regulatory agency issuing liquor licenses to alcohol-serving establishments.
From 1955 to 2009 the number of liquor licenses issued in town more than doubled. This second installment of a two-part video series explores the uncertainty surrounding local liquor policy that arose along with the bar scene.
