TO: PLANNING COMMISSION
FROM: BRAD JOHNSON, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
DATE: MAY 5, 2026
SUBJECT:
Title
A REQUEST TO ALLOW THE ON-SITE CONSUMPTION OF WINE (TYPE 42) AND OFF-SITE SALES OF WINE (TYPE 20), AND SMALL EDUCATIONAL CLASSES AT A PROPOSED SAKE MUSEUM, CLASSIFIED AS A SPECIALTY WINE BUSINESS, LOCATED AT 532 WEST FIRST STREET, UNIT 209. APPLICANT - LIBBY TSENG (D.B.A. YAMAMORI & JIOU JIU SHANG, INC)
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SUMMARY
Libby Tseng, dba Yamamori and Jiou Jiu Shang, Inc., has submitted an application for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow for on-site consumption of wine (Type 42) and off-site sales of wine (Type 20) at a proposed Sake Museum. The proposed Sake Museum is classified as a specialty wine business under the Claremont Village Expansion Area Specific Plan. The proposed Sake Museum will operate six days a week and will be closed on Mondays. The business hours will be from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM every Tuesday to Thursday, from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM every Friday and Saturday, and from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM every Sunday. Serving of alcohol is primarily associated with small group courses that will be offered on site and will cease at 7:00 PM.
The proposed Sake Museum will be located on the second floor of Claremont Packing House, within a live/work unit that includes main floor and a mezzanine, at 532 West First Street, Unit 209.
The proposed business qualifies as a “Specialty Wine Business” as defined in the Claremont Village Expansion Area Specific Plan, which requires approval of a Conditional Use Permit from the Planning Commission. A CUP is also required for small educational uses including art classes. Staff believes that all the required CUP findings can be met by the project and that the new use will positively contribute to the Village Expansion area.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends the Planning Commission:
A. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA APPROVING CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT #25-C06, A REQUEST TO ALLOW THE ON-SITE CONSUMPTION OF WINE (TYPE 42) AND OFF-SITE SALES OF WINE (TYPE 20) AT A PROPOSED SAKE MUSEUM, CLASSIFIED AS A SPECIALTY WINE BUSINESS AND SMALL INSTRUCTIONAL CLASSES REGARDING SAKE, SHOCHU, AND JAPANESE CULTURE AND ART, LOCATED AT 532 WEST FIRST STREET, UNIT 209. APPLICANT - LIBBY TSENG (DBA YAMAMORI & JIOU JIU SHANG, INC); and
B. Find this item is exempt from environmental review under the California Quality Act (CEQA)
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ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDATION
In addition to staff’s recommendation, the following alternatives have been identified:
A. Continue the item for additional information.
B. Approve the project with additional or revised Conditions of Approval.
C. Express an intent to deny CUP #25-C06 in its entirety, specifically identifying the findings of Section 16.303.040 of the CMC that cannot be met, and continue the item to May 19, 2026 for adoption of a denial resolution.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Costs associated with the review of this application have been borne by the applicant.
ANALYSIS
Background
The project site is in one of the live/work units on the second-floor level of the Claremont Packing House, within the Village Expansion Area and has a zoning designation of Village Expansion Specific Plan (VESP) - Specific Plan 8 and a General Plan designation of Claremont Village. The surrounding tenants in each direction are also all located within the VESP area. More specifically, the VESP identifies the project site to be located within Zone 1 - Commercial Mixed Use (CMX) of the VESP area.
Existing businesses in the Claremont Packing House include restaurants with and without alcohol service, coffee shop, juice bar, wine shop, music and art studios, culinary art classes, hair salon, fitness gym, bookstore, clothing shop, and other lifestyle retail offerings. More specifically, the proposed Sake Museum is in a central location within the building on the second floor, near the northern entrance to the building facing First Street.
The applicant is a certified wine professional specializing in Japanese Sake and Shochu. She recently operated a vocational school to teach professional certificate courses on Japanese Sake and Shochu in the City of Chino. Upon discovering this tenant space in the Claremont Packing House, she has since closed her location in Chino to establish a Sake Museum in Claremont. She intends to move her vocational school to the Claremont location and expand her business model to offer additional Japanese cultural experience through rotating exhibitions of Japanese art and antique collectables, religious artifacts, cultural videos, and more. In addition, small group Japanese cultural classes such as tea ceremony, kimono experience, floral arrangement, and Japanese-style gift wrapping, and ceramic art restoration will be offered. Furthermore, the applicant will dedicate wall spaces to display art pieces produced by artists based in Los Angeles County to showcase local talents, and by disabled children to further charity causes. The applicant has submitted a business operation statement and schedule of classes to elaborate her business plan (see Attachments B, C, D).
Staff has reached out to the City of Chino Development Services Department and Police Department to inquire about any history of the applicant’s previous vocational school in Chino. Both departments expressed no concerns.
Sake and shochu will be served at the proposed business. However, all servings will be offered in modest, two-ounce tastings paired with finger foods, and will occur primarily in small group instructional classes. Customers will be able to order additional sealed containers of sake and shochu that were tasted in classes. However, consumption will be limited to the instructional area only and under supervision of a staff member who is RBS (Responsible Beverage Services) certified by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. There will be no open bar, and any retail sale of alcohol will be limited to off-site consumption only. Further, only 17% of the gross floor area will be utilized for serving alcoholic beverages. Therefore, the proposed business qualifies as a Specialty Wine Business as defined by the VESP (see Attachment G) and requires the approval of a Conditional Use Permit from the Planning Commission.
Project Description
The applicant is proposing a Sake Museum which will offer small group courses in Japanese sake, shochu certification, various Japanese cultural experiences. Japanese culture will be showcased throughout the leasing space with rotating art exhibition, finger food tastings, and showing of videos.
The VESP requires that Specialty Wine Businesses devote no more than 30% of the gross floor area for customer seating and serving of wine (or equivalent alcoholic beverages). In accordance with the VESP, serving sake and shochu at the proposed business will be contained only in the rear portion of the leasing space on the main floor, which is approximately 197 square-feet, represents 17% of the gross floor area, and has been designated as the classroom.
The interior of the classroom will feature three tables and 14 chairs, and the instructional courses will be kept small, not exceeding 12 students.
The proposed hours of operation are:
• Monday: Closed
• Tuesday - Thursday: 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM
• Friday - Saturday: 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM
• Sunday: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
ADA Compliance
The applicant proposes utilizing the mezzanine as an exhibition space, and also for video and audio experience. However, the mezzanine is accessed through a stairway that is not compliant with the American Disability Act (ADA). Therefore, the applicant will offer equivalent facilitation for the same experience offered in the mezzanine level through photographs and digital display. Photo albums, slide shows, and videos of the exhibition offered on the mezzanine level will be available to any handicapped persons on the main floor as well to ensure that all patrons are offered the same educational experience regardless of physical limitations.
Parking
The tenant space is a live/work loft unit. According to the VESP, loft units are required to provide one parking space for every 600 square feet of floor area, which amounts to two assigned spaces for this tenant space. However, as of January 1, 2023, AB 2097 prohibits cities from imposing a minimum automobile parking requirement for this project because the project site is located within a half mile radius of a major transit stop. The subject site is less than a half mile from the Claremont Depot. Despite this, staff does not anticipate the new Sake Museum to cause significant parking issues due to the availability of parking spaces at the public parking garage to the south on First Street.
Basis for Recommendation
The approval of a CUP requires that the Planning Commission make certain findings as set forth in Section 16.303.040. Staff believes that all the findings can be made in regard to the proposed Sake Museum including wine service (sake and shochu tastings served as part of educational classes), wine sales (sale of sake and shochu in sealed containers for off-site consumption), and small educational classes at the proposed location as identified in the draft resolution (Attachment A). Staff believes that the new business will be a positive addition to the mix of uses in the Village Expansion. The project’s conditions of approval listed in the resolution also gives the City of Claremont the authority to revoke the subject CUP if it is discovered that the operators of the use are violating regulations or any condition(s) of approval. Furthermore, the proposed use is subject to the operating conditions set by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), which regulates and monitors the manner in which alcoholic beverages are sold.
CEQA REVIEW
The Community Development Director has determined that the project under review is categorically exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15301 (Class 1) for existing facilities, in that the project entails the leasing of an existing tenant space within a private structure involving a negligible expansion of use beyond that which currently exists. Therefore, no further environmental review is necessary.
PUBLIC NOTICE PROCESS
The agenda and staff report for this item have been posted on the City website and distributed to interested parties. If you desire a paper copy, please contact Nhi Atienza at natienza@claremontca.gov.
On Thursday, April 23, 2026, the property was posted and written notices were mailed to property owners within 300 feet of the boundaries of the site, as well as all tenants within the Claremont Packing House. Copies of this staff report have been sent to the applicant and other interested parties.
Submitted by: Prepared by:
Brad Johnson Catherine Lin, AICP
Community Development Director Senior Planner
Attachments:
A - Draft Resolution
B - Business Concept
C - Business Operation Statement
D - Class Schedule
E - Site Plan
F - Floor Plan
G - Definition of Specialty Wine Business
H - Site Photos