PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island will implement its 11 p.m. shutdown for bars Friday, after Gov. Gina M. Raimondo said during her weekly COVID-19 press conference that 20% of bars inspected showed they were not properly separating bartenders from customers.
In the seven days leading up to her Aug. 5 press conference, 471 bars and restaurants were inspected for compliance, R.I. Department of Business Regulation spokesperson Brian Hodge told Providence Business News on Thursday. That would mean roughly 92 restaurants and bars were found to have some noncompliance, though Hodge did not immediately respond to confirm that figure.
Preparing for Potential Tax Changes
The upcoming 2024 election will have a major impact on tax policy, specifically provisions created…
Learn More
Hodge said the week saw a large number of “first-time offenders” who have not yet received compliance orders of any kind from the state – or been posted publicly on DBR’s transparency portal. Those establishments will be inspected again starting this weekend, Hodge said. He did not indicate how many inspectors will be involved.
“If they do not comply after one warning, we will seek an appropriate order,” Hodge said.
Raimondo spokesperson Audrey Lucas told PBN on Friday that the bar area still has to close at 11 p.m. in restaurants, even if it is being used as a dining table for patrons to eat.
PBN FILE PHOTO/MICHAEL SALERNO
Rick Simone, founder of Ocean State Coalition – which represents several restaurants across the state – and executive director of the Federal Hill Commerce Association, noted multiple concerns on Friday about the new curfew and its potential impact on restaurants that are already trying to recover from the pandemic. He said the approximately 80% of restaurants who are complying with the safety guidelines are also being punished with the curfew based on the acts of others. Simone also said those restaurants and bars who are problematic should be shut down.
Furthermore, Simone said bars at restaurants are being used as dining seating, which is part of the 66% maximum capacity allowed by the state for indoor restaurant seating, and are not currently meant to stand at. Therefore, with patrons taking approximately 90 minutes for dinner, restaurants will have to stop bar seating well before 11 p.m., potentially hurting business in the process, Simone said.
“So, now you’re talking about they have to stop seating at the bar not at 11 p.m., but at approximately 9:30 p.m. hoping that the guests will be out of their seats – or you have to kick them out – at 11 p.m.,” Simone said. “And that’s what the governor’s not getting.
“What doesn’t make even more sense is that we can use the rest of the restaurant. So, the rest of the restaurant is fine, inside at a table that’s eight feet from the bar and continue to be served drinks at the bar, but they just can’t sit at the bar. So how does that make any sense?”
Simone also claimed that communication between restaurant owners and state officials has been an issue. He said he’s had direct conversations with RIDBR, the R.I. Department of Health and R.I. Commerce Corp. for the last three weeks about bars and restaurants being an issue, but Simone said the state hasn’t provided “anything that shows” bars and restaurants are the issue for recent COVID-19 case increases.
“[The state] cannot provide us anything with any data, any reports, anything that shows [restaurants and bars are a problem here]. All they mention is bars in other states,” Simone said. “I got a call five minutes before [Raimondo] made this announcement and we already said that we couldn’t support this measure. It made no sense.”
Simone also said he asked if there would be further conversations to find a compromise, but the state both coalitions that Raimondo “is not going to change her mind.”
“So, there’s going to be restaurants that are going to be taking very loud specific positions starting over the weekend and definitely early into next week,” Simone said.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
