A restaurant in Washington, D.C., has had its liquor and business licenses reinstated, marking the end of a grueling legal battle that left the establishment closed for nearly two months.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board on Wednesday ruled that the Big Board, a specialty burger shop and pub, could have its liquor license restored, completing the final step for the restaurant to reopen. The district’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs previously reinstated the pub’s operating license earlier this month.
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var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_47464046", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"973970"} }); ","_id":"0000017f-978c-d4d8-a3ff-bf8dc92e0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed“Convincing D.C. to reinstate The Big Board’s liquor license was the final step in allowing Mr. Flannery to reopen his business and get back to what he does best — serving great burgers and beer in a city he loves,” said Robert Alt, the president of The Buckeye Institute and the lawyer representing Big Board co-owner Eric Flannery. “Mr. Flannery’s restaurant never should have been shut down in the first place, and his case shows the devastating impact that government overreach has upon small businesses — owners and employees alike.”
‘NOT CONTROVERSIAL’: SHUTTERED DC RESTAURANT BECOMES POLITICAL FOOTBALL
The decision ends a monthslong dispute after noncompliance to Mayor Muriel Bowser’s vaccine mandate in January led to the suspension of the bar’s liquor license and its subsequent closure.
The pub is the first and only establishment in Washington, D.C., to lose its liquor license or be shut down for violating Bowser’s mandates. Within the first week of the vaccine mandate going into effect, 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.
The Big Board’s liquor license was then suspended on Jan. 28. Just over a week later, the district’s Health Department issued a closure notice on Feb. 1, citing multiple code violations not related to COVID-19 mandates.
The bar initially appealed the liquor license suspension during a two-hour hearing with the ABC Board on Feb. 10. Despite the revocation of the vaccine mandate just a few days later on Feb. 15, the ABC Board confirmed it would move forward with its decision to suspend Big Board’s liquor license “indefinitely.”
However, a spokesperson with the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration told the Washington Examiner at the time that the restaurant had the option to request a modification in light of the mayor’s announcement.
The Buckeye Institute wrote a letter to the DCRA on Feb. 22, demanding it to allow the restaurant to reopen without having to “proceed with legal action seeking financial damages, attorney’s fees, as well as injunctive and other compensatory relief.” That request was granted March 1, according to the institute.
The pub’s lawyers then filed a motion on Feb. 24 to the ABC Board for reconsideration of its liquor license suspension of the Big Board. The board held a hearing with the restaurant on Wednesday in which it ultimately decided to restore the license.
As part of the agreement, the Big Board must pay $4,000 in fines for its violations of the district’s mandates in order for the license to be restored.
Since its closure, the Big Board had attracted nationwide support, with some creating online fundraising pages that allowed Flannery to continue paying his employees.
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In the meantime, Flannery said he and his crew have gathered two to three times to week to complete other projects, such as cleaning up trash along the H Street Corridor, where the pub is located.
“We decided that we’re going to do something good for the neighborhood and make sure that all the trash didn’t go down storm drains and end up in the Anacostia,” Flannery told the Washington Examiner. “We’re happy to do it. We’re not allowed to do anything else right now, so it’s a good outlet.”
Under the reinstatement order issued Wednesday, the Big Board’s liquor license suspension was lifted at 8 a.m. Thursday. However, the restaurant indicated it would need “some time” to resupply the restaurant’s drinks and food before reopening to the public.
