THE PALMS RESTAURANT AND BANQUET HALL GRANTED NEW PERMIT TO STAY OPEN IN DOWNTOWN EL CAJON
By Pau
l Levikow
August 19, 2025 (El Cajon) – The El Cajon Planning commission voted unanimously Tuesday to grant a new Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to The Palms Restaurant and Banquet Hall on Main Street downtown, avoiding imminent closure on Oct. 1.
The business will still be required to operate mainly as a restaurant under the new CUP, with up to 10 private events allowed per month. Alcohol sales and live entertainment are allowed as they were under the previous permit. The business proposes to operate from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Monday through Sunday, but the restaurant is not proposed to open until 6 p.m. New owners of The Palms say they are planning renovations both inside and outside of the business.
“We’re serious. We acquired this business because we see a vision,” new owner Jeff Mansour said. “We believe in it and we’re going to do what we say we’re going to do.”
“We want to invest in our community,” said Vince Kattoula, a planning consultant representing the owners. “We are not the previous owners and we hope that tonight we can close that chapter with the understanding that we want to be the team that turns the old downtown El Cajon into the next Little Italy.”
Some of the discussion centered around frustration with previous ownership groups and the revocation of the previous CUP.
“You didn’t come with a lot of baggage, you took up a lot of baggage and that’s unfortunate,” Commissioner Shannon Edison said. “Now it will be completely on you.”
Kattoula said the “Nadi” style restaurant will serve Mediterranean food and host events for groups celebrating many different cultures. “The Palms does more Quinceaneras than it does Chaldean engagement,” he said. There was also an African bridal shower held there recently, a Ramadan lighting, an international bazaar, and post-funeral luncheons. Daytime private events held before 6 p.m. will not count toward the 10 monthly maximum allowed.
Monitoring compliance of the CUP will be made possible through an online calendar where dates will be marked as closed for a private event on the website.
“I like what I see. I don’t want to see an empty building,” Planning Commission Chair Anthony Sottile said. “I want to see a flourishing downtown El Cajon.”