The owner of Chelsea’s Cafe must look into rezoning his restaurant or possibly face having his doors closed after the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control fined the restaurant.Chelsea’s owner David Remmetter was cited for two violations after a Jan. 22 raid by the ATC. Though one of the charges was for operating as a bar without a license to do so, Remmetter said his restaurant was following state regulations.  Remmetter agreed to pay a $2,000 fine and accept a one-year suspension of his establishment’s license unless he meets the state’s conditions to receive a rezoning change or applies for a parish restaurant license, said state ATC Commissioner Murphy Painter.Remmetter met with Painter on March 18 to discuss the charges. Painter said Chelsea’s was “barely” functioning as a restaurant under the state’s license regulations, which require selling more food than alcohol. State and city regulations say an establishment’s revenue has to be 50 plus 1 percent from food sales Monday through Saturday and 60 percent from food sales on Sunday to operate as a restaurant, according to the Alcoholic Beverage Control and Gaming Enforcement. Chelsea’s Cafe meets the state requirements and made more than 50 percent of revenue from food sales during the last two years, Remmetter said.”It doesn’t matter if I’m one percent over,” Remmetter said. “The majority is a majority.” Painter said while Chelsea’s may meet the state regulations, the restaurant is operating outside of the city zoning standards. “He is operating 10 years outside of qualifications, and he admitted in the hearing he was outside the qualifications,” Painter said. The city-parish ABC office said the city and state have zoning standards for restaurants selling alcohol, and both have their own auditors who inspect restaurants to ensure standards are compliant with the law. The state can’t enforce the city’s license to the city’s office when a restaurant doesn’t comply, said ABC agent Larry Cooper. Painter said Remmetter did not have the correct license from the city, but Remmetter said he had licenses from the city and state. “As far as I know, I’m in compliance with the city,” Remmetter said. He admitted his food percentages didn’t meet the required standards from 1998 to 2006. But once the restaurant moved locations from West State Street to the current location on Perkins Road, the restaurant started to sell more food than alcohol, he said.”I don’t see how he can fine me for sales not being right in 2006,” he said. Remmetter said to comply with the ATC, he will ask the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council to rezone his restaurant.”I don’t think I’m wrong,” Remmetter said. “But I’m going to get rezoned.” —-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]