CLEVELAND — Citations were handed out to multiple restaurants and bars over the weekend for violating Gov. Mike DeWine's health orders.
These were the restaurants that were cited:
- Dante's Inferno on Backyard Bocce. They were cited on July 17 for lack of social distancing measures in places.
- Forward. They were cited on July 18 for customers dancing on the dance floor, bar and on top of tables, no social distancing measures and not serving food.
- Club Paradis. They were cited on July 18 for having over 150 people in a confined area and no social distancing measures.
Club Paradis was also cited the following day for having customers dancing too close together in a small area. They did however reduce their capacity.
Officials said Cleveland police issued a misdemeanor to the owner for violating health orders.
The cases will go before the Ohio Liquor Control Commission for potential penalties, including fines and/or the suspension or revocation of liquor permits.
Officials said that although many bars and restaurants were found in compliance with health orders, multiple warnings were issued throughout the weekend.
“The goal of these compliance checks is to safeguard all patrons by ensuring that liquor-permitted establishments maintain compliancy, so they can continue to serve their customers and everyone can enjoy a safe and healthy experience,” said OIU Agent-in-Charge Michelle Thourot. “Educating liquor-permit holders about the order has been the priority of the Ohio Investigative Unit, however when egregious violations are observed, enforcement action is taken. We’re asking patrons to help out their favorite bars and restaurants by following the precautions put in place to make these establishments safe and compliant with the directives.”
