A Montclair restaurant that has habitually ignored state-mandated COVID-19-related indoor dining rules was shut down Monday morning for violating a court order which barred it from offering any food services, officials said.
Authorities from the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Essex County Sheriff’s Office and Montclair Police Department “conducted an operation” at Cuban Pete’s at 4:45 a.m. that ended a little less than two hours later with locks of the restaurant being changed, Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly told NJ Advance Media.
“The court order was sought by the Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the N.J. Department of Health (DOH) because (Cuban Pete’s) refused to comply with a DOH order to stop operating in violation of previously issued Executive Orders,” Fennelly said.
The owner, Dominick Restaino, was also ordered to attend a Nov. 19 hearing in Mercer County Superior Court by the attorney general’s office, Fennelly said.
Restaino was charged numerous times with violating Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order which barred indoor dining at the time. On Sept. 4, Murphy allowed indoor dining to resume.
Cuban Pete’s was either warned or received citations for violations of the executive orders a total of 10 times between June 23 and Oct. 4, according to court documents.
On one of those occasions, Sept. 4, a Montclair Police officer counted 124 people dining inside the restaurant which was only allowed to seat a maximum of 49 with the 25% capacity limit, the court documents showed.
The Sept. 4 incident resulted in Restaino being handed a third summons for violating the executive order.
On Oct. 9, the DOH issued its order which directed Cuban Pete’s to “immediately close to the public for all dining services” for not complying with the executive orders and specifically stated that “no customers shall be permitted to enter the facility for any purpose," according to court documents
After he received the closure order, Restaino refused to close the eatery and said that “if necessary the police would have to arrest him and everyone else at the restaurant,” the documents stated
Police checked the restaurant several other times in the next few days and still found people dining there, authorities said.
This led to an Oct. 15 order which authorized the state to secure Cuban Pete’s Restaurant to ensure that it was in compliance with the executive orders.
Restaino has told NorthJersey.com that department of health officials had visited his restaurant earlier this month with the intention of shutting it down after he racked up three citations for violating indoor dining orders which include a 25% capacity limit on indoor dining and keeping tables six feet apart.
However, he told the outlet that they left the restaurant without shutting it down and later told him that the order was rescinded.
Despite this, his restaurant was shut down Monday morning, but Restaino told NorthJersey.com that he was unsure why.
“I don’t know what happened,” he said. “It’s a bad dream.”
Restaino could not immediately be reached for comment Monday night.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.
Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com.
"Shut" - Google News
October 27, 2020 at 10:06AM
https://ift.tt/3jvhvVF
Authorities shut down popular N.J. restaurant for violations of indoor dining rules - NJ.com
"Shut" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3d35Me0
https://ift.tt/2WkO13c
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Authorities shut down popular N.J. restaurant for violations of indoor dining rules - NJ.com"
Post a Comment