Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

21 hours ago

‘Reservoir Dogs’ and ‘Kill Bill’ Actor Michael Madsen Dies at 67

21 hours ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

22 hours ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

22 hours ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

1 day ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

1 day ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

1 day ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

1 day ago
California Cracks Down on Rogue Bars
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 5 years ago on
May 15, 2020

Share

California bars are on a highball hijinx alert.

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is proposing emergency powers to shut down bars and restaurants if they disobey the state’s public health order by serving mojitos and manhattans to patrons in an establishment.

Elizabeth Castillo
CALmatters

Not only could the alcohol cops suspend licenses, the owners would have to appeal to a superior court, a more difficult hurdle than the usual process of challenging the ABC’s appeals board. The department is stepping up enforcement as some local jurisdictions defy the governor’s order.

“Many businesses and citizens have demonstrated an unwillingness to abide by the public health orders and have instead opened for business, increasing risks to the public health, safety, and welfare,” the state wrote in justifying the rule change.

“Bad actors are gaming the system; because they see an impending death sentence for their business on the horizon, they have no reasonable incentive to correct their behavior and abide by the rules.”

The emergency order was made public Monday and will be reviewed by the state’s rulemaking agency, the Office of Administrative Law, before taking effect.

Under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide shelter-in-place order, vendors can only sell alcohol to-go — but it must be sold with food. Some bars are partnering with restaurants to sell their beverages with food, but others have been punished. One young Sacramento bar, The Snug, was shut down after regulators found it was serving cocktails without having a kitchen. It now serves beverages to go in partnership with a local pub with a kitchen.

Still, some bars and restaurants are flouting the rules, which is prompting the department to take action.

“Recently the department began to receive complaints that some ABC licensees are disregarding the laws and regulations set by the department or orders from their local officials and are thereby harming the public health, safety and welfare,” the department wrote.

“Due to delays inherent in the normal license disciplinary process, the department is unable to immediately address these violations in the absence of this proposed emergency decision regulation.”

The Governor Says Restaurants and Bars Are Near and Dear to Him

Restaurants are clamoring alongside other businesses to resume operations as the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic drags on. But the governor has made clear the public health and science will drive decisions to reopen California.

The governor announced Tuesday guidelines for dine-in services at restaurants and other businesses. In the past, he has warned that dining out would be a much different experience with hosts taking temperatures at the door, passing out disposable menus and servers wearing masks and gloves.

“The worst mistake we can make is to just throw those face coverings off and disabuse ourselves that this virus has gone away, or taken the summer off, or it’s on a deep sabbatical, or vacation,” he said. “It’s not.”

Newsom added, “If we love our community and we do, and we love our restaurants and we love our retail and we love our pet groomers and the like, let’s protect them and protect their customers and protect one another.”

The governor says restaurants and bars are near and dear to him. Before launching his political career, Newsom founded PlumpJack, a San Francisco wine shop that has since grown into a chain of wineries, restaurants and bars.

For now, the hammer is coming down on establishments.

When a Fresno restaurant defied public health orders, it ended up paying thousands of dollars in fines for serving dine-in customers, The Fresno Bee reported. After a Mother’s Day arrest made in front of his eatery and a $5,000 fine, restaurant owner Ammar Ibrahim wrote on Facebook that his restaurant will return to serving take-out orders only.

“Not once did I ever state I was above the law or better than the next person,” Ibrahim wrote. “I’m just a father and a small business owner trying to make a living for my family & give back to my community.”

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

DON'T MISS

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

DON'T MISS

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

DON'T MISS

US Military Says 200 Marines Being Sent to Support ICE in Florida

DON'T MISS

Boeing Secures $2.8 Billion US Satellite Contract

DON'T MISS

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

DON'T MISS

Over 100 Former Senior Officials Warn Against Planned Staff Cuts at US State Department

DON'T MISS

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

UP NEXT

Madre Fire Burns More Than 52,000 Acres in San Luis Obispo County

UP NEXT

Stocks Hit Record, US Dollar Strengthens After Jobs Data

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Will Focus on Fed Chair Replacement in Fall, Bessent Says

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Grows to 35,000 Acres, More Evacuations Ordered

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

CHP Officer Dies in Line of Duty After Medical Emergency While on Patrol

UP NEXT

Downtown Housing Could Rise in Many California Cities, but Barriers Remain

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

1 hour ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

1 hour ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

2 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

2 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

2 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

2 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

2 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

2 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

20 minutes ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
20 minutes ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 52,592 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, morning, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
27 minutes ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Tops as 2025’s Largest Wildfire in California

46 minutes ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
2 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
2 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
2 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend