New Haven's health director has ordered a bar to close after city officials witnessed about 1,000 people at the establishment late Saturday night, according to the mayor's office.
The city received several complaints about 50's on Fitch, in the Westville section of New Haven Saturday. The health inspector, building inspector, and fire and police officials all arrived at the bar on Fitch street to find it packed with customers, a news release said.
“I first arrived on-site as part of the inspection conducted by the task force, and witnessed over one thousand patrons at this establishment in violation of the outdoor dining capacity guidelines, state rules for outdoor events, and various health codes,” Building Inspector Jim Turcio said.
Turcio ordered the owners to shut down immediately, but the owners wouldn't, he said.
Joy Monsanto, who owns 50's on Fitch, told NBC Connecticut the event was to celebrate Juneteenth, and that no one was in the establishment.
"So there wasn’t 1,000 people in the establishment," Monsanto said. "There may have been people sprinkled throughout the parking lot."
The city officials said the bar was in violation of a number of state rules regarding outdoor dining and city ordinances, including:
- Failing to ensure that all attendees at a large outdoor public gathering at your establishment remained at least six feet apart, failing to ensure that said attendees were wearing masks except when dining, failing to demarcate six feet of spacing in the area of gathering.
- Permitting the sale of alcohol without the sale of food.
- Outdoor dining in excess of seating capacity.
- Permitting a public health nuisance on your property.
- Operating in excess of 50% capacity on an outside deck.
- Operating in violation of Connecticut General Statutes 19-13-B42 and Title III, Chapter 14 of the New Haven Code of General Ordinances.
- Creating a condition specifically declared to be a public nuisance
As a result, the health director issued a cease and desist letter to the owners of 50 Fitch. New Haven also notified the State Department of Liquor Control about the alleged violations.
