A restaurant in Washington, D.C., had its liquor license suspended, making it the first establishment to face punishment for violating the district’s mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Investigators with the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration served the suspension notice to the Big Board, a specialty burger shop and pub, at 4 p.m. Friday and retrieved the restaurant’s license, ABRA spokesman Jared Powell told the Washington Examiner.
“The establishment cannot sell, serve, or allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages, nor can they purchase or take delivery of alcoholic beverages from wholesalers or manufacturers while the liquor license is suspended,” Powell said in an email.
ABRA voted Wednesday to refer the Big Board to the district’s attorney general to draft a suspension notice, according to Powell.
The Office of the Attorney General confirmed earlier Friday that it was in the process of drafting a suspension notice, which was posted on the front doors of the restaurant that evening. The suspension is in effect “until further notice,” according to Marrisa Geller, a press secretary for the OAG.
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Licensees may request a hearing to reverse the decision within three days of receiving the suspension notice. It’s unclear whether the restaurant will appeal the decision, and managers of the Big Board did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
Once an appeal is made, ABRA must schedule a hearing within two days to determine the length of the suspension and whether any further disciplinary action must be taken, according to Geller.
The pub is the first establishment in Washington, D.C., to lose its liquor license or receive punishment for violating Mayor Muriel Bowser’s vaccine mandate that went into effect Jan. 15.
The Big Board received notice that its liquor license would go under review on Saturday after multiple violations of the district’s mask and vaccine mandates.
Within the first week after Bowser’s vaccine mandate went into effect on Jan. 15, the bar racked up a number of verbal and written warnings, as well as hefty fines, for not requiring patrons to show proof of vaccination before entering.
Big Board was the first business to receive a warning of any kind under the newly imposed vaccine mandate, which requires indoor establishments such as bars, restaurants, gyms, and theaters to verify patrons’ vaccination statuses and matching identification.
The H Street restaurant received a verbal warning, a written warning, and a $1,000 fine, all between Jan. 14 and Jan. 18, for the violation of staff not wearing masks, according to data from ABRA. It faced the same punitive measures for the separate violations of refusing to verify proof of vaccination as a prerequisite for entry and required signage not being posted.
The violations led officials to draft the case for an Alcoholic Beverage Control Board review on Saturday, with the hearing taking place on Wednesday.
The restaurant signaled it was aware of the impending action before receiving the notice.
“We would like to sincerely thank all of the people who have continued to come out to our small veteran and family owned restaurant at the corner of 5 & H NE,” the business tweeted on Saturday, the same day it received the notice. “Nothing has changed since our last tweet. All are welcome … we are open until midnight tonight.”
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Before the mandate went into effect, Big Board indicated it would not comply, posting on Twitter that “everyone is welcome.”
“This rule applies yesterday, today and tomorrow,” the pub tweeted on Jan. 13, two days before the mandate began. “Hopefully we’ll see you January 16th.”
Despite being the first to have its liquor license suspended over the mayor’s vaccine mandate, the attorney general’s office said it handles hundreds of similar cases each year regarding licensing and enforcing district liquor laws.
