MIAMI, Fla. – Miami-Dade Police Department conducted 10,220 business checks on Friday, according to the Miami-Dade Mayor’s office.
45 businesses received warnings of non compliance and 3 were shut down for violating orders meant to be adhered to since the county gave the go-ahead for reopenings after being shuttered due to COVID-19. Most of the visits wee to unincorporated areas of the county, according to the Miami-Dade mayor’s office.
2 of the 3 closed Miami restaurants are planning on be back in business Sunday.
Swan in the Design District is taking reservations for Father’s Day brunch. So is Astra in Wynwood. Both of these restaurants were ordered closed Friday as Miami-Dade County cracked down on New Normal violations.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said there will be zero tolerance for establishments that do not follow the rules.
"Everyone must take personal responsibility to help stop the spread of this virus," Gimenez said.
Today's New Normal Dashboard for Miami-Dade County shows another uptick in COVID-19 positive cases. That's why it's important to call 305-4-POLICE if you se a business violating orders for social distancing or masks. https://t.co/sMURptCErz
— Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez (@MayorGimenez) June 20, 2020
The owner of El Secreto in Little Havana, the third spot to be closed, said he didn’t understand why his establishment was singled out. The owner, who didn’t want to be identified, told Local 10 he called the city to come and check his business because he wanted to open back up. He claims only his staff was inside and he never served anyone.
“I don’t know about how the law is working. Why they allow certain places to open. The city and police, they know what they are doing. I cannot go against what they want me to do.”
Miami police said on Thursday, June 18 at approximately 11:41 p.m., they received an anonymous call of possible guideline violations at Swan. On Friday, it was shut down.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Swan said: “We will reopen for business tomorrow exceeding all governmental guidelines and practices to ensure a safe environment.”
Astra’s manager Alejandro Garcia said his restaurant closed for 24 hours to regroup and to make sure it is in compliance.
“We will be. We will reopen Sunday for brunch,” Garcia said.
In order to reopen, businesses that have been closed due to noncompliance must take 24 hours to review Miami's New Normal Guidelines and take all "necessary measures to meet the requirements. " The businesses must also submit an affidavit demonstrating that they have completed the necessary steps to reopen.
In Broward County, Piazza Italia on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale is receiving a $200 fine for every day they are not in compliance after the city says officers witnessed non-compliance of COVID-19 regulations.
“Part of the warning was that there wasn’t enough social distancing happening at our facility, which is what we tried to do. We reduced to 50 percent capacity and redesigned our whole room,” said James Tomecsek, owner of Piazza Italia.
Local 10 learned Saturday that just over 80 restaurants in Fort Lauderdale were fined for breaking COVID-19 regulations.
Based on information collected through its 311 and MyBroward system for citizen complaints, 58 warnings have been issued,