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Police are expected to be present this morning in front of an Etobicoke barbecue restaurant which has been ordered to close indefinitely after openly breaking public health restrictions that prohibit eating on site.
Adam Skelly, owner of Adamson Barbecue, opened the Queen Elizabeth Blvd. location of his restaurant on Tuesday morning for indoor and patio dining, despite a blocking order that took effect in the city the day before.
Throughout the day, dozens of customers were seen eating inside and on the benches set up outside, many of whom wore no masks.
The blatant violation of the rules ultimately led to the decision by health medical officer Dr. Eileen de Villa to use her powers under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to order the closure of the business, but when the police she showed up to close it was after 4pm and Skelly was already about to close the day.
It’s unclear at this point if Skelly intends to attempt to reopen today, but last night he seemed to hint at the possibility in a post on the restaurant’s official Instagram page, sharing an animated image of him standing on a police cruiser and wielding a long trowel. with the caption “Etobicoke. 11 am sold out. Dine in. “
Police said they plan to return to the company on site today to make sure it doesn’t reopen in violation of Toronto Public Health’s order.
“I think you’ll find there will be people there very quickly to enforce the law (if it reopens),” Toronto Mayor John Tory told CP24 Wednesday morning. “And I would say that if he comes back a second day after he is ordered to close the first day he is free to do so, but the authorities are free to throw him the book too, which is exactly what they should do. It’s not my decision, but I hope they throw the book at him. “
Police and the law officer actually showed up at the Adamson Barbecue shortly after it opened on Tuesday, but did not close it at that time, telling reporters it would not be safe to “physically go in and remove everyone” due to of the “sheer number” of people “who showed up.
Staff Superintendent Mark Barkley, however, told reporters later in the day that it was a “mistake” not to act earlier in the day.
He said if customers return to the restaurant today the police will be “ready to deal with people who refuse to leave the premises.”
“If it opens tomorrow we will be here,” he said. “We will be present and guarantee compliance with the order.”
‘A rotten apple that ruins everyone else’
Skelly’s decision to operate in contravention of provincial emergency orders has been criticized by numerous officials, including Tory and Premier Doug Ford.
On Wednesday, Vice President of Central Canada for the Restaurants Canada lobby group James Rilett told CP24 that “there is a lot of frustration in the industry right now,” as most restaurateurs believe they can operate safely.
But he said what happened at the Adamson Barbecue a day earlier was far from safe, with little attention paid to even the most basic precautions, such as ensuring physical distance in formations and between tables.
“It is a very unfortunate situation. The restaurant has done so much to promote safety and to demonstrate that it can serve its customers safely and abide by the rules. Something like that puts everyone in a bad light and unfortunately it’s one of those situations where a bad apple is really ruining it for everyone else, “he said.
People who violate the province’s emergency orders could be subject to fines of $ 750 to $ 100,000.
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