State suspends liquor license for Port Orchard restaurant after refusal to close indoor dining
Dec 14, 2020, 12:37 PM
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board announced Monday that it is suspending the liquor license for That One Place, a restaurant in Port Orchard cited for repeated violations of COVID-19 regulations.
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The 180-day suspension comes after the restaurant was given 24 hours last Friday to comply.
“However the owner would not agree to follow the law,” the LCB said in a written release.
The Liquor and Cannabis Board has reportedly received over 100 complaints related to That One Place, which has kept serving and seating customers indoors despite a statewide ban on all indoor dining.
Gov. Jay Inslee instituted that ban on Nov. 15. Two days later, That One Place posted to Facebook saying that “today is the last day of indoor dining” until restrictions lift. On Dec. 3, it then announced that it would again be offering an indoor dining option anyway, and has since repeatedly advertised that across its social media channels.
Across six site visits, “the LCB observed the violations and provided the licensee with information about how to comply and the consequences of remaining in violation of state law.” The restaurant went on to “repeatedly” tell the LCB that it does not plan to comply with Washington’s current COVID regulations.
This isn’t the first time the restaurant has been in hot water for flouting COVID restrictions, after owner Craig Kenady opened indoor dining over Memorial Day weekend. This time around, Kenady appears to have no plans to get back into compliance anytime soon.
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“I’m sure that they’re going to try to fine us and I’m sure they’re going to take a license away, who knows from there,” Kenady told Q13 in early December. “But we’re prepared and my community has already bucked up and said if I get a fine, they’re paying it for us.”
Gov. Inslee had previously issued a warning to restaurants shortly after extending COVID restrictions into January, saying that “enforcement mechanisms will be significant” for anyone defying the rules.
“We need to have compliance, and we will act accordingly to move toward that,” he said.
