Seeing Red Over Pink-Painted Eatery -- Color Scheme Of Restaurant In Bothell Brings Lots Of Complaints

BOTHELL - For 10 years Roberto Ibarra has worked toward his dream: a restaurant of his own, where he would prepare some of his mother's recipes and build a better life for his children.

But the 32-year-old concedes that when he realized his goal this fall, he made what may have been a crucial business blunder. He spent $2,000 on paint for Gallo de Oro, choosing electric pink with lime-green accents and a red foundation.

His Mexican restaurant, at 10015 Main St. in the heart of downtown Bothell, is in one of the city's most high-traffic areas. It has definitely brought a new look to the business district, which is mostly populated with brown-brick and cream-colored buildings. And some residents want something done about the colors of Ibarra's restaurant.

"It's got quite a few people upset," said resident David Seiy, who brought the issue to the City Council, distributed fliers and has launched a letter-writing campaign.

"Many people moved to the Bothell area for its small-town feel, and something like this doesn't fit with people's image of what the city should be."

Ibarra never anticipated such reaction. He said he'd repaint if he could.

"I don't have the money to do it," he said.

Business is slow at Gallo de Oro, but Ibarra is hoping it's because his liquor license was delayed and not because of the restaurant's colors.

"I'm scared," Ibarra said. "I worry about it because I know some customers don't like (the colors)."

"Taste is in the eye of the beholder," said City Councilwoman Jeanne Edwards, who has heard complaints about the color but thinks Ibarra has the right to paint the building any color he wants.

"It's not my favorite color personally, but I respect the cultural heritage he is trying to reflect, and I don't have a problem with it."

Seiy said he is not being culturally insensitive to Ibarra. The building simply is not in keeping with Bothell's villagelike atmosphere and the soft earth tones throughout downtown.

The controversy has pointed up Bothell's lack of an ordinance regulating colors for local businesses, which should be the City Council's next step, Seiy said.

Bothell Mayor John Curtin said the city staff is exploring a potential change to the city code.

Some cities, such as Issaquah and Edmonds, regulate color as part of the design-review process. Bothell could do the same, said Duane Bowman, Bothell's co-interim community development director. But any new policy would have no effect on Ibarra's existing business, he said.

Gallo de Oro's look has caused enough of a flap that Ibarra said he will repaint it eventually and hopes to have enough money to do the job by summer.

He and his wife, Gloria, put their life savings into the restaurant, Ibarra said. He worked for seven years as a bartender at Las Margaritas in Woodinville as he planned the restaurant, which opened in September. The Ibarras keep Gallo de Oro, Spanish for "golden rooster," open seven days a week. Gloria Ibarra also works another job to help the family get by.

"This business is for my family," Roberto Ibarra said. "I have two wonderful kids, and that is what I'm working for."

Seiy was pleased to hear Ibarra plans to repaint. "It's a step in the right direction," he said.