Some Miami bars were planning to reopen by serving food. The city says not so fast
Customers won’t be bellying up to a bar just yet in the City of Miami.
The city manager signed an order that went into effect Wednesday at 5 a.m., drawing a clear distinction between restaurants and bars that may also have food service licenses from the state of Florida.
That means that bars and breweries within Miami city limits can’t open inside seating during this phase of reopening, while spots in unincorporated Miami-Dade County and other South Florida cities can.
That caught venues like Taurus Whiskey Bar off guard as they prepared to reopen Wednesday afternoon but were stopped by a fire department official three hours before serving diners.
Chef-owner Mike Beltran had hired back his entire staff — 15 employees — who spent the last three days preparing the restaurant-bar to reopen at 5 p.m. First he was told he couldn’t reopen at all. Then hours later, that he could only open his outdoor area.
“I don’t know what to do,” Beltran said. “We’ve been preparing for weeks for this. Why wait til now to announce this? This is another example of government overreach, of figuring it out as they go along.”
Miami places stricter zoning on businesses than the county does. Businesses that the city of Miami classifies as Alcohol Service Establishments are not allowed to use their state food service licenses to reopen dining rooms for seating, city spokeswoman Stephanie Severino said.
The order, signed May 26 at 11 a.m. by city manager Art Noriega, specifically amends the city’s emergency order. It defines restaurants and food service establishments as businesses whose “primary use under non-emergency conditions is the preparation of food.” They must have a certificate of use as a food service venue.
Businesses the city considers bars, taverns, pubs, nightclubs, cocktail lounges, cabarets and beer breweries may continue to offer only takeout and delivery.
It caused confusion across the city. Bar Nancy in Little Havana posted on Instagram that they expected to welcome patrons back Wednesday afternoon. They later delete the post, saying, in part “unfortunately the city of Miami had other plans for our reopening... The situation is constantly changing and we need to comply with the law.”
Several other South Florida cities, which had banded together to delay reopening until May 27, reopened, most without Miami’s specific distinction. Miami-Dade County clarified that as long as an establishment has a state-approved food service license, it could reopen, while maintaining social distancing between tables. Only bar areas must remain closed for seating.
Ball & Chain, the lively venue in Little Havana, also was preparing reopen Wednesday but was stopped by police.
“Zoning should not be used as a weapon to discriminate against businesses,” Ball & Chain co-owner Bill Fuller said.
Fuller said it was a shock for his business, which has spent the last 10 days preparing to reopen with social distance markers on the floor, reducing capacity to 120 from 550, setting tables apart following guidelines and keeping the bar area closed. He said he’d been in touch with city officials two weeks ago to discuss when to prepare for reopening because the Ball & Chain can operate as a restaurant. He called food and beverage providers to stock up, and called back 40 employees to return to work.
On Tuesday, he held a walk-through with Miami-Dade Commissioner Eileen Higgins to show off the business’ preparations.
“She was very happy,” Fuller said.
Beltran has two restaurants next door to Taurus, Ariete and Nave, and both are reopening. Meanwhile Taurus remains closed inside, with outside tables that had been set for service.
“What makes it different?” he said.
Ball & Chain has been the site of a protracted battle between Fuller and Commissioner Joe Carollo, who pointed out code violations on Fuller properties. This prompted Fuller to sue Carollo, accusing him of political retaliation for supporting one of Carollo’s opponents in an election. Carollo, accusing Fuller of trying to de-Latinize the neighborhood, said he wants business owners who do work without permits to comply with the law.
Fuller said he understands the goal of keeping nightclubs and bar areas closed is to limit people coming into close contact. But he said he believes those with food service licenses should be allowed to operate under the strict restaurant guidelines.
“I believe this city has a lot of explaining to do,” he said.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 1:36 PM.
