These 20 Sacramento-area restaurants face state sanctions for allegedly violating COVID rules

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control’s official vision is to “protect California communities through excellence in alcohol regulation and education.” During the pandemic, it has semi-reluctantly adopted a new role: COVID-19 restaurant police.

After nearly a year of mask mandates and closed dining rooms, many restaurant owners have grown frustrated and a few rebellious. More and more local restaurants seem to be ignoring state restrictions on indoor dining as the coronavirus pandemic rages on, particularly east of Sacramento.

The ABC preaches education above enforcement, recognizing the confusion that ever-changing guidelines can bring. And most restaurants haven’t been problematic: the state organization’s 208 sworn agents visited California restaurants and bars nearly 190,000 times since July and filed just 238 citations, spokesman John Carr said.

That includes 20 allegations of Sacramento-area restaurants flagrantly disregarding the rules by allegedly serving customers inside or outside when barred from doing so, or not making front-of-house employees wear masks. Citations often come after multiple warnings, Carr said.

Those weren’t cases of a cashier’s mask slipping beneath their nose for a minute. Citations are reserved for restaurants that flagrantly disregard the rules, most notably seating customers indoors when not allowed, and often come after multiple warnings.

“We don’t want to be writing citations, but … there’s a pandemic going on. This virus has proven to be deadly. There’s a need to follow up on egregious violations,” Carr said. “If there are egregious violations where someone is allowing inside dining with no face coverings on servers and no social distancing, then the ABC is going to write a citation. And if that doesn’t enforce it, we’re going to move forward with (additional) disciplinary action.”

Sacramento and Placer counties’ boards of supervisors have declined to fine businesses that eschew social distancing regulations, as have their counterparts in many other parts of California. And while Yolo County has fines and few problem restaurants, such financial penalties haven’t been fully effective deterrents in El Dorado County.

The ABC isn’t directly fining businesses, either. But as a state law enforcement agency and gatekeepers for California liquor licenses, which regularly cost around $15,000, it has a couple of tricks to go after bad actors.

Civilian complaints about restaurant and bars’ unsafe business practices prompt an ABC agent’s visit. If business owners don’t respond to educational efforts, they can be cited for violating Section 8665 of the California Government Code by failing to obey health orders as part of the Emergency Services Act.

Will California restaurant owners face criminal charges?

Citations are then forwarded to the county district attorney, who decides whether to prosecute the misdemeanor. If convicted, business owners and operators face fines of up to $1,000 or six months imprisonment.

It’s unclear how willing district attorneys will be to go after restaurants accused of creating unsafe environments. Sacramento County, for example, has declined to charge restaurants cited by the ABC. Placer County is still deciding whether to prosecute Granite Rock Grill, La Provence Restaurant & Terrace and House of Oliver, supervising deputy district attorney Lisa Botwinik wrote in an email.

“We are currently reviewing those (ABC) reports to determine their legal sufficiency, whether or not prosecution at this time would serve the interests of justice and whether criminal penalties would be an efficient use of resources in our community for such issues,” Botwinik wrote.

The ABC can also file accusations — sanctions on the business’ liquor license, essentially — in addition to or instead of citations. Accusations can be contested in front of an administrative law judge and appealed up through the California Supreme Court.

The appeals process can take years if appellants have enough money to support the legal lift. More commonly during the pandemic, the ABC and restaurants have settled on three years probation, with additional penalties such as license suspension or revocation if they’re caught violating rules again during that time.

These places can still serve alcohol while their licenses are on probation. But for bars where food supplements alcohol sales, extended suspension or revocation of a liquor license is a death knell.

At least 20 Sacramento-area restaurants have faced ABC accusations thus far, and these five have agreed to three-year probationary periods:

• Clubhouse Bar & Grill (Carmichael)
• Players Sports Pub & Grill (Fair Oaks)
• Beach Hut Deli (Roseville)
• La Fiesta Taqueria (Citrus Heights)
• The Blarney Stone Irish Pub (Orangevale)

These restaurants have been accused by ABC of allegedly violating COVID-19 restrictions:

• House of Oliver (Roseville)
• Taqueria Garibaldi (Sacramento)
• Friar Tuck’s Restaurant & Bar (Nevada City)
• El Burrito Taqueria (Sacramento)
• The Zebra Club (Sacramento)
• Danette’s Brick Oven Pub (Placerville)
• Cafe El Dorado (El Dorado)
• Apple Bistro (Placerville)
• The Purple Place Bar & Grill (El Dorado Hills)
• La Provence Restaurant & Terrace (Roseville)
• Taqueria Taco Loco (Folsom)
• Granite Rock Grill (Rocklin)
• La Cascada (El Dorado)
• R Vida Cantina (Citrus Heights)

All restaurants but Apple Bistro, Friar Tuck’s Restaurant & Bar, Beach Hut Deli, Cafe El Dorado and Danette’s Brick Oven Pizza have been cited as well.

El Dorado Saloon & Grill’s liquor license was also suspended for 15 days starting Jan. 28 after customers were served indoors in mid-December. The El Dorado Hills restaurant admitted to allowing indoor dining in a Facebook post but argued it was being unfairly targeted when others had done the same without penalty.

“There are more restaurants allowing dine-in today than not, good for them. We do not question other businesses’ ethics because everyone is challenged to do the best for their employees and families, and maintain the safest environment for their customers during this confusing and inconsistent time,” the post read. “To have the state determine who wins or loses during this already difficult time is unacceptable. Asking for consistency from our state leader and ABC is beyond reality at this point.”

Apple Bistro, which actively tells customers not to wear masks, has been fined more than $150,000 by El Dorado County and the state Department of Industrial Relations. Its county health permit has also been revoked, as is the case at Cafe El Dorado and Danette’s Brick Oven Pub.

R Vida Cantina, a refined offshoot from regional chain Casa Ramos, was one of seven restaurants paid by the city to feed seniors through Citrus Heights’ Great Plates Delivered program from May through December.

Placer restaurants respond to pandemic

Only one restaurateur replied to The Sacramento Bee’s requests for comment: House of Oliver co-owner Matthew Oliver. A month after ABC agents warned Oliver that following through on his plan to blow through the state-mandated 10 p.m. curfew could result in penalties, the restaurant was accused and cited for allowing customers to eat indoors on Dec. 29, shown in a Facebook video Oliver posted as he followed the citing agent to his car.

The ABC has never delivered a written list spelling out state restrictions, said Oliver, whose restaurant was visited by an ABC agent a week before the citation. The California Department of Public Health and Cal/OSHA’s list of restrictions is posted online, the first result when one Googles “California restaurant operating guidelines.”

“They say they’re educating. If they’re educating, how come we have received nothing in writing from the ABC in regards to guidelines?” Oliver said. “If we’re going to say that lives are at stake, and we have been for going on 11 months now, how come they didn’t take the time to put one thing in writing and make sure restaurants received something?”

Three miles away from House of Oliver, Nixtaco has stuck firmly to not offering indoor or even outdoor dining despite financial losses from social distancing regulations. Patricio Wise’s Mexican restaurant is takeout-only, as it’s been at every stage of the pandemic.

Wise was careful not to criticize restaurants that offer indoor dining, noting there’s a clear customer demand for it. The pandemic, like so much else in America, has been politically polarizing, and community members have called him a coward for not reopening Nixtaco beyond takeout, he said.

Yet Wise knows several people who have died or had long-term complications from the virus. Gathering in enclosed spaces increases the risk of contagion, which inevitably leads to lock downs, he said.

”I know a lot of people in Mexico and I know lot of people here. I don’t need to read the news to know this thing is real,” said Wise, a native of Monterrey. “We’ve had dear guests who have lost spouses. Some of our staff have lost relatives. It’s a reality, and I’m not willing to look the other way.”

Plus, Nixtaco’s long-awaited distillery is about 75% complete, and trouble with the ABC is the last thing Wise needs.

This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 5:00 AM.