Sneaky restaurateurs in Queens lost their liquor license for serving patrons in violation of Gov. Cuomo’s order barring eating and drinking on its premises, officials said Friday.
The operators of the New Oriental Guyana Restaurant on Liberty Ave. in South Richmond Hill shut its front gates — but in a Prohibition-era move, they let dozens of customers in through an alley door so they could wine and dine the night away, the State Liquor Authority said.
Forty patrons ate and drank inside when the NYPD visited on Wednesday. Restaurant workers ignored cops’ orders that the eatery is emptied out, teh SLA said.
SLA officials suspended the eatery’s liquor license Friday for “operating in flagrant violation of the Governor’s Executive Order to cease on-premises sales of food and alcoholic beverages to combat the spread of the coronavirus.”
“These directives are not helpful hints, they are not suggestions, they are mandatory and SLA will not hesitate to take immediate action to protect the public health and safety against the spread of the coronavirus,” SLA Chairman Vincent Bradley said in a statement.
The SLA charged the restaurant with several violations, including failure to comply with Cuomo’s order and failing to supervise the premises. The agency said it will begin immediately to permanently revoke the restaurant’s license.
The restaurant’s owners could not be reached Friday.
The New Oriental Guyana Restaurant was one of two city eateries summonsed for allowing patrons to congregate on their premises Wednesday.
Brooklyn cops on Thursday night handed criminal court summonses to two men who refused to leave Dick and Jane’s, a bar in Fort Greene. Both men were charged with disorderly conduct and failing to disperse.
The overwhelming majority of restaurants in the city are following the rules. Cops inspected 5,242 bars, clubs and restaurants Thursday night, officials said. Out of that number, 3,838 were closed. The rest were operating in line with Cuomo’s order by only offering food and drink for pickup or delivery, cops said.
