Port Orchard diner has liquor license suspended over COVID-19 violations
The diner That One Place in Port Orchard has had their liquor license suspended by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) over “repeated COVID-19 public health and safety violations” the agency said Monday.
In a release, the LCB said they “provided the licensee a 24-hour period to avoid the suspension by complying with state law” but “the owner would not agree to follow the law.”
The loss of a liquor license means the diner will no longer be able to serve alcohol legally for the next 180 days.
Julie Graham, who handles communications for the LCB, said in an interview with The Gateway that the diner operated in violation of restrictions on indoor dining and had lax mask usage.
“The most important thing for us at this time is enforcing the no-indoor-seating rule,” Graham said.
The owners of That One Place declined to comment to The Gateway on the suspension or the violations.
But in an interview Dec. 3 with KCPQ Fox 13, owner Craig Kenady said, “We’re going to make a stand and if we’re going to have to close our doors anyways, why not go out swinging?”
In a video posted to Facebook on Dec. 2, Kenady said that “we learned a long time ago that Port Orchard is a village and they just need somebody to step up and give direction.”
On Dec. 3, the business posted to Facebook saying “besides our great takeout, curbside and inside out dining we’re going to offer a choice of inside out or inside inside.”
Graham said the LCB had received four complaints about That One Place, followed by six site visits.
“They have consistently stated that they will not comply,” Graham said.
If they chose to go on serving food, she said, further enforcement would fall to the Washington State Department of Labor and Industry (L&I), which has responsibility for workplace health and safety.
“We don’t go out and put a padlock on the door but we’ve certainly used the abilities we have to get them to follow the requirements. If they don’t, it can be very costly and, in some cases, there could be some criminal involvement,” Tim Church, communications director of L&I, said. “That of course would be the last thing that we would want to see happen but if someone disobeys a court order, they have to deal with the courts.”
Church pointed to a similarly defiant fitness center in Graham that had been fined nearly ten thousand dollars a day as an example of these measures in action.
“We’ve cited and fined a gym in Graham,” Church said. “Graham fitness is facing $77,000 in fines....this is serious business, for sure.”
For now, while the liquor suspension is for 180 days, Graham said that could be extended.
“There have been cases where at the end of the 180 days we have sought a permanent suspension,” Graham said.
Graham said there are “appeal processes at every stage” if a business wishes to present exculpatory evidence challenging the suspension.
Reach Chase Hutchinson at chase.hutchinson@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published December 14, 2020 at 3:54 PM.
