7 Fort Lauderdale bars and restaurants close for violating coronavirus rules

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After a sweep of Las Olas Boulevard and other areas of Fort Lauderdale that lasted until 2 a.m., 7 establishments were fined and closed for not following coronavirus guidelines on Friday night.

The City of Fort Lauderdale’s Community Improvement and Compliance Division conducted what they said were “unscheduled compliance checks” on the companies.

“We will also seek to ensure that no one exceeds 50% of the maximum occupancy in the building,” said Porshia Williams, manager of Fort Lauderdale Code Compliance. Other compliant issues that, if not followed, could mean a fine and a shutdown were: customers who do not congregate in bars, tables separated by at least six feet, signs with COVID guidelines are displayed, and the companies they operate were approved. for Phase 1 of the reopening of the city.

7 companies were found to be in violation, meaning they would not be allowed to reopen for 24 hours and code compliance would visit the sites again on Saturday.

All but one of the businesses received a $ 250 fine. Piazza Italia was fined $ 15,000 for repeated violations. In compliance with the code, the restaurant had already received warnings for violating social distancing rules. On Friday, code officials found people dining at high tables pressed against the bar.

In violation

Piazza Italia 904 E. Las Olas Blvd., $ 15,000 fine, closing. Repeat violations.

Café del Mar, 101 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach, Boulevard, $ 250 fine and closing. Without using facials, without social distancing, without posters.

Lucky Tavern, 214 SW 3rd Ave., $ 250 fine, closed, operating as a bar. The bar establishment cannot open during Phase 1.

Panini noodles, 821 E. Las Olas Blvd., $ 250 fine, using the bar area, allowing patrons to drink at the bar.

Original Fat Cats, 320 SW 2nd St., $ 250 fine and closing. Large crowd, without social distance, without signage.

Hospice, 110 SW 3rd Ave., $ 250 fine, closing. Large crowd, without social distance, without signage.

Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar, 740 E. Las Olas Blvd., $ 250 fine, which functions as a bar. The bar establishment is not open during Phase 1.

Pursuant

American Social, 721 E. Las Olas Blvd.

Big City Tavern, 609 E. Las Olas Blvd.

Cafe Europa 910 E. Las Olas Blvd.

Sensei House 1200 E. Las Olas Blvd.

The way, 817 E. Las Olas Blvd.

Ristorante Bar Pizzeria, by Louie Bossi, 1032 E. Las Olas Blvd.

Hollywood Brewing, 1103 E. Las Olas Blvd.

Macabi Havana Lounge, 1219 E. Las Olas Blvd.

Red Door Asian Bistro & Hibachi, 625 E. Las Olas Blvd.

YOLO 333 E. Las Olas Blvd.

Kaluz 3300 E. Commercial Blvd.

At YOLO on Las Olas Boulevard, while it seemed that the crowd was large on Friday night, the city discovered that they were complying, practicing social distancing, enforcing masks and within their capacity limits.

Tim Patrillo of the Yolo restaurant said it is always a challenge to make sure everyone wears a face mask and social distancing because there are so many people coming and going.

“I feel like the guests are also beginning to be much more responsible,” Patrillo said.

The same thing happened with Big City Tavern. “No one congregated at the bar. (We) saw nothing that did not comply,” Williams said.

At American Social, where they had been ordered to shut down for 24 hours once, they also complied.

THIS JUST IN:

On Saturday at 9pm, most of the companies visited were found to comply.

Spazio Restaurant, 239 S. Ft. Lauderdale Beach Blvd., was fined and turned off.

The Code Enforcement team will be out on Saturday cracking down on the companies until 2 am, they said.