When Garden Grove police served a search warrant at DD Cafe, a small coffee shop near La Quinta High School in Orange County, they arrested 17 people and red-tagged the building, but the public record has not yet clarified whether the city will treat it as an adult entertainment business operating in violation of local zoning rules.
TLDR
Garden Grove police say they served a warrant at DD Cafe, arresting 17 people and red tagging the coffee shop, after complaints that the business was operating as an adult entertainment venue less than 1,000 feet from a public high school.
Police Investigation and Red Tag
According to Fox News, the Garden Grove Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit opened an investigation into DD Cafe after receiving complaints that illegal activity was occurring inside the business. In a Facebook post on February 5th, 2026, the department said officers served a search warrant and detained 17 people at the location.
“The Garden Grove Police Department Special Investigations Unit (SIU) conducted an investigation into DD Cafe following complaints of illegal activity occurring inside the business,” the department wrote in a Facebook post, adding that the business was red tagged with the assistance of Garden Grove Code Enforcement.
Under city practice, a red tag typically signals that a building has been deemed unsafe or out of compliance with local regulations, and it is often accompanied by an order that the premises not be occupied until issues are addressed. Police told Fox11 Los Angeles that in this case, the red tag reflected safety and code concerns at the coffee shop.
Neither Fox News nor Fox11 Los Angeles reported the specific allegations that led to each of the 17 arrests, whether those individuals were employees, patrons, or both, or what potential criminal charges they might face. The police statement also did not identify any suspects by name or list the counts that had been filed in court.
What Undercover Reporting Alleged
While the police focused on a warrant and arrests, Fox11 Los Angeles sent an undercover crew into DD Cafe and reported that the activity went beyond what would be expected in a typical coffee shop. According to the station, women inside the business wore very little clothing, provided lap dances to customers, and allowed patrons to bring in their own alcohol for an additional fee.
The outlet reported that a woman who identified herself as being in charge of the cafe insisted to its crew that it was only a coffee shop and said the owner was not available for comment. A nearby resident, speaking with Fox11, characterized the establishment as a strip club, highlighting a sharp contrast between how some neighbors perceive the business and how staff members describe it.
Fox News reported that DD Cafe is licensed as a coffee shop. The coverage to date has not indicated that the business holds any separate permit as an adult entertainment venue, nor has it detailed whether the city had cited DD Cafe for prior violations before the February search.
Zoning Distance and Licensing Rules
According to Fox11 Los Angeles, the Garden Grove Municipal Code prohibits adult entertainment businesses from operating within 1,000 feet of a school. That type of buffer is common in cities that seek to separate adult venues from schools, parks, and other places where children congregate.
DD Cafe sits a short walk from La Quinta High School in Garden Grove. Reporting cited mapping data that put the distance at roughly one tenth of a mile, which would appear to fall well inside the 1,000-foot limit for a fully licensed adult club, if the city ultimately classifies the business in that category.
Zoning and licensing rules often treat adult entertainment differently from standard restaurants or coffee shops, requiring special permits, added security measures, and, in some cases, background checks for owners. Without access to the complete licensing file, it remains unclear which specific approvals DD Cafe has obtained from the city beyond its coffee shop license.
Unanswered Questions About Charges and Oversight
The public announcements so far leave significant gaps about what happens next for DD Cafe, its owner, and the people arrested during the search. The police statement did not specify whether detectives were seeking additional evidence, whether any regulatory agency had begun a separate review of the business license, or when findings might be referred to prosecutors.
City code enforcement, which assisted with the red tag, is typically responsible for administrative penalties related to building or safety violations, while any criminal case would move through the Orange County court system. As of the latest reporting, however, neither outlet has described a detailed public charging document in this matter, leaving open what specific statutes, if any, prosecutors will ultimately invoke.
Community members interviewed by Fox11 Los Angeles said DD Cafe is not the only business in the area where they believe adult entertainment is taking place in venues that are licensed as something else. That perception, if borne out by future inspections or cases, would suggest that the DD Cafe investigation is part of a broader question about how consistently local rules on adult businesses are enforced.
For now, authorities have confirmed only that a warrant was served, 17 people were arrested, and the building was red tagged. The coffee shop’s owner has not publicly responded through the reporting to date, and there is no clear timeline for when more information about possible charges, license actions, or zoning determinations will be made public. How city officials ultimately classify DD Cafe, and what that means for similar venues nearby, remains an open question.
