FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A total of 12 businesses were issued citations in a weekend sweep by Fort Lauderdale code compliance officials who checked out restaurants on Friday and Saturday nights making sure coronavirus rules were followed.
The City of Fort Lauderdale’s Community Enhancement and Compliance Division announced on Friday that they were going to conduct what they said were “unscheduled compliance checks” of businesses throughout the weekend. They promised crackdowns on businesses until 2 a.m. each night.
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According to the city, more than two dozen additional establishments were inspected — or re-inspected if they had been previously cited — and found to be in compliance.
American Social, 721 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Argentino Las Olas, 813 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Asia Bay, 1111 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Bar Rita, 1401 S. Andrews Ave.
Benihana, 276 E. Commercial Blvd.
Bo’s Beach, 600 Seabreeze Blvd.
B Square Burgers, 1021 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Big City Tavern, 609 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, 429 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Café Europa, 910 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Casa Sensei, 1200 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Con Murphy’s, 17 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Drunken Taco, 201 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Elbo Room, 17 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
El Camino, 817 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Flanigan’s, 2600 Davie Boulevard
Hollywood Brewing, 1103 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Hooters, 17 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Louie Bossi’s Ristorante Bar Pizzeria, 1032 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Lulu’s Bait Shack, 17 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Macabi Havana Lounge, 1219 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Red Door Asian Bistro & Hibachi, 625 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Rock Bar, 219 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Rocco’s Tacos, 1313 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Shooters Waterfront, 3033 NE 32 Ave.
Taco Bell, 17 S. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.
Tap 42, 1411 S. Andrews Ave.
YOLO, 333 E. Las Olas Blvd.
Kaluz, 3300 E. Commercial Blvd.
At YOLO on Las Olas Boulevard, while it appeared that the crowd was large Friday night, the city found that they were in compliance, practicing social distancing, enforcing masks and within their capacity limits.
Tim Patrillo, of Yolo Restaurant, said it is always a challenge to make sure everyone is wearing a face mask and social distancing because there are so many people coming in and going out.
“I feel like guests are starting to be a lot more responsible as well,” Patrillo said.
The same went for Big City Tavern. “No one was congregated at the bar. (We) didn’t spot anything that was out of compliance,” said Porshia Williams, Fort Lauderdale Code Compliance manager, said.
Williams said they were looking for places that were not violating 50 percent maximum occupancy in the building, patrons not congregating at bars, tables at least six feet apart, there was signage with COVID guidelines displayed, and that the businesses operating were allowed approved for Phase 1 of the city’s reopening, among other compliance restrictions.