The first time our staff learned of the controversy over Candlelight Kitchen & Bar, we had to ask ourselves: Would Acorn readers across Simi Valley care about the battle over a single restaurant/bar/event venue on the eastern edge of the city?

There was doubt as to whether or not it was worthwhile to follow this story, which falls into a categorythe newspaper generally tries to avoid: battles between people and private enterprises.

Every year, the Acorn Newspapers receive hundreds of e-mails and calls from customers wishing to seek revenge on a business that did them wrong, asking us to publish a scathing Letter to the Editor or have a reporter do an exposé.

While many of these angry consumers may truly have been mistreated, we have to explain to them the meaning of libel, and why we don't do "he said, she said" reporting. We tell them we sympathize but don't have the manpower to investigate every act of bad business in the community—that's the job of the Better Business Bureau.

Now sure, if it's a matter of public safety—the Department of Public Health finds out your favorite sushi joint is using last week's fish in its California rolls, for instance—then of course we'd write about it. But in most cases, we're forced to pass.

That is not the case with Candlelight.

That's because our reporting on the popular yet controversial nightspot isn't just about overflow parking, noise levels and drunken debauchery, complaints that a handful of Simi's after hours venues face on a regular basis. It's about the avenues for residents to address their grievances and how much, or how little, influence private citizens should have over the activities of a local business.

This week's story on page 1 seems to signal that the saga of Candlelight has gone in favor of the upset neighbors, with owner and operator Glen Gerson agreeing to do away with Candlelight's popular dance floor and replace it with a lounge setting.

We'd like to know how those folks not living near Candlelight feel about the issue: Is what's happened with the nightspot justice for the neighbors, or is it another example of NIMBYs hurting a business that was too successful for its own good? Write us at simi@theacorn.com.