DC to suspend restaurant's liquor license for refusing to comply with mask, vaccine mandates

A restaurant in Washington, DC, is slated to have its liquor license suspended for violating the city's mask and vaccine mandates for patrons, making it the first establishment in the district to face punishment for doing so.

On Wednesday, the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) voted to refer the Big Board restaurant to the district's attorney general to draft a suspension notice, ABRA spokesman Jared Powell told the Washington Examiner.

"The establishment cannot sell, serve, or allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages, nor can they purchase or take delivery of alcoholic beverages from wholesalers or manufacturers while the liquor license is suspended," Powell said in an email to the news outlet.

The Office of the Attorney General confirmed Friday that it was in the process of drafting the suspension notice, which is expected to be served to the restaurant in the coming days. Once delivered, the suspension would be in effect "until further notice," according to Marrisa Geller, a press secretary for the OAG.

The restaurant can request a hearing to reverse the decision within three days of receiving the notice. Once an appeal is made, ABRA is required to schedule a hearing within two days to determine both the length of the suspension, and whether or not additional disciplinary action must be taken.

Big Board is the first establishment in the city to be punished for violating the district's vaccine mandate that went into effect on Jan. 15.

The mandate requires bars, restaurants, gyms, and theaters to verify that patrons are vaccinated against COVID-19 and have matching ID.

"Within the first week after Bowser’s vaccine mandate went into effect on Jan. 15, 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," according to the Washington Examiner.

Between Jan. 14 and 18, the restaurant received a verbal warning, a written warning, and a $1,000 fine for the violation of staff not wearing masks.

Additional warnings were issues to the restaurant for not having the required signage posted regarding the vaccine mandate.

On Saturday, the day the restaurant was made aware that their liquor license would be under review, they tweeted that "all are welcome."

"We would like to sincerely thank all of the people who have continued to come out to our small veteran and family owned restaurant at the corner of 5 & H NE. Nothing has changed since our last tweet. All are welcome...we are open until midnight tonight," they wrote.

In the nights leading up to the start of the mandate, the DC restaurant tweeted that all patrons would still be welcome, implying that the business would not be complying with the district's COVID-19 mandate.

"As has always been the case for us, everyone is welcome. This rule applies yesterday, today and tomorrow. Hopefully we'll see you January 16th," they wrote.