On Monday, Lancaster County restaurants will once again be allowed to offer some indoor dining, ending a three-week ban meant to slow the spread of COVID-19.
But instead of shutting down during the normally busy holiday season, some restaurant owners defied Gov. Tom Wolfâs three-week ban, opening their dining rooms up for customers, and themselves up to possible state sanction.
And long after dining rooms are legally allowed to be open, problems could persist for owners who violated the latest order, as they did for some who held out against mitigation efforts in the spring, and then fought extended battles in court.
BUREAU OF LIQUOR CONTROL ENFORCEMENT REPORTS COMPLIANCE CHECKS By John Smathers
Pennsylvania State Police press release
Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Officers visited 694 licensed liquor establishments from Monday, December 28 through Wednesday, December 30 to ensure businesses are abiding by COVID-19 mitigation requirements, including the suspension of in-person service from December 12, 2020 through January 4, 2021, as outlined in the limited-time mitigation order.
Liquor Control Enforcement Officers issued 16 notices of violation and 33 warnings for failing to follow COVID-19 requirements. A notice of violation precedes the issuance of an administrative citation, which is civil in nature, and is intended to provide licensed liquor establishments notification of the nature of violation(s) discovered. The investigation remains open during this period, pending review by the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement (BLCE). Becau
MIKE JONES Staff writer
Holly Tonini
QUESTIONS â Al Collins is shown in his newly renovated kitchen at Al âan Rubenâs restaurant in this 2018 photo.
WASHINGTON, Pa. Restaurants that are complying with Pennsylvania’s statewide ban on indoor dining are drawing a line in the sand on Monday. That’s when the state’s restaurant shutdown is scheduled to be lifted, and many business owners say they’ll reopen their dining rooms that day even if Gov. Tom Wolf extends the restrictions as some fear.
The three-week shutdown since Dec. 12 has been a devastating blow for restaurants and bars already struggling through sluggish sales due to the coronavirus pandemic. But many owners who are following the rules by only offering takeout right now are watching as their scofflaw counterparts that have fully reopened are doing booming business.
Staff writer
Al Collins is shown in his newly renovated kitchen at Al an Ruben s restaurant in this 2018 photo. Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
WASHINGTON, Pa. Restaurants that are complying with a statewide ban on indoor dining are drawing a line in the sand on Jan. 4. That’s when the state’s restaurant shutdown is scheduled to be lifted, and many business owners say they’ll reopen their dining rooms that day even if Gov. Tom Wolf extends the restrictions as some fear.
The three-week shutdown since Dec. 12 has been a devastating blow for restaurants and bars already struggling through sluggish sales due to the coronavirus pandemic. But many owners who are following the rules by only offering takeout right now are watching as their scofflaw counterparts that have fully reopened are doing booming business.
Valley restaurant among 33 more ordered to close in Pa. for defying COVID-19 orders
Updated Dec 30, 2020;
Posted Dec 30, 2020
Gov. Tom Wolf, shown earlier in December at a news conference. The governor has ordered restaurants to close indoor dining through Jan. 4, although a handful of establishments are defying those orders.
Dec. 7, 2020
Commonwealth Media Services
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More Pennsylvania restaurants are getting dinged for defying Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 mitigation orders.
As part of its latest round of inspections, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture announced it has ordered 33 restaurants including one from the Lehigh Valley to close for allowing patrons to eat indoors. The inspections took place Dec. 21-27.