Licensing hassles.

Has Adolfo Suaya soured on the Zen Grill & Sake Lounge in Westwood?

After struggling |or more than a year to get a full liquor license and paying $600,000 for renovations designed by Dodd Mitchell, Suaya had been in escrow to sell the restaurant on Broxton Ave. for $460,000, according to the Sept. 29 issue of real estate newsletter Pacific Report.

The deal now appears to have fallen through.

Suaya and minority partners Elaine Johnston and executive chef Ryuichi Hamada filed an application to transfer the venue's liquor license, currently limited to beer, wine and sake, to Chris Won on Sept. 28. The application was later withdrawn, according to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Suaya denied the restaurant was for sale, saying he planned only to transfer the license to Won, a sushi chef, before those plans fell apart. Won could not be reached.

Zen Grill & Sake Lounge had a hearing for a conditional use permit several months ago and had received approval for a full liquor license once it provided additional parking for its customers. The restaurant has not yet fulfilled that condition.

Suaya, who also owns the Gaucho Grill chain, opened the Zen Grill & Sake Lounge in September 2003, after buying the rights from Johnston and Hamada.

The original Zen Grill locations at Olympic Boulevard in Beverly Hills and Third Street in West Hollywood, owned by Westwood Brewing Co. owner Edward Kim, are not affected.

Staff reporter Rebecca Flass can be reached at [phone], ext. 230, or at [e-mail]. Staff reporter Andy Fixmer contributed to this column.