Grota Restaurant (Google Streetview)
City officials shut down five restaurants and clubs for violating rules designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday.
Officials shut down J.L. Lounge, 3402 N. Cicero Ave., after issuing two citations for operating after midnight, social distancing violations and no face coverings, according to a statement from the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
Grota Restaurant, 3108-12 N. Central Ave., was shut down by officials after receiving two citations for operating after midnight, patrons not seated, social distancing violations and no face coverings, officials said.
Officials shut down Family Den, 8940-44 S. Stony Island Ave., for operating over capacity indoors, failure to ensure social distancing, patrons not seated and no face coverings, officials said.
Dirty Dozen Motorcycle Club, 720-22 E. 67th St. was shut down by officials and received two citations for social distancing violations and no face coverings, officials said.
Officials shut down B'Z Sports Bar & Grill, 12001-03 S. Halsted St., for allowing patrons to consume alcohol indoors without serving food and no face coverings, officials said.
City inspectors conducted 93 investigations and issued 14 citations to seven businesses for violating the city’s rules, officials said. Eight of those investigations were of large gatherings and parties at residential locations, officials said.
City officials declined to name the businesses that were cited but not shut down. Each citation comes with a $10,000 fine, according to city ordinance. The shuttered businesses were allowed to reopen the next day, with proper precautions in place.
Bars, taverns, breweries and other establishments that don’t have a retail food license permitting them to serve food were blocked on July 24 from serving customers indoors as Mayor Lori Lightfoot and health officials work to stamp out an increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city.
An average of 348 Chicagoans have been diagnosed each day with the coronavirus during the past week, a 1% decrease from the previous week, according to Chicago Department of Public Health data. The city’s average test positivity rate is 5.3%, according to the data.
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]
