Hundreds of complaints, zero penalties for bars, restaurants violating Florida reopening rules. (Palm Beach Post)

Hundreds of complaints, zero penalties for bars, restaurants violating Florida reopening rules

A sign at the Sabie Palm Bar and Grill at the Lani Kai Fort Myers Beach Wednesday March 18, 2020 asks visitors to observe social distancing standards because of the coronavirus pandemic. Beaches across Lee County have since been closed due tot he virus. Andrew West/The USA Today Network, The News-Press
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By Jeffrey SchweersUSA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau
Posted Jun 22, 2020 at 11:11 AM
Any restaurant or bar owner found in violation of the governor’s orders faced a second degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. But no fines were levied and no enforcement action was taken in those 335 cases discovered by the USA TODAY FLORIDA NETWORK.

Since the beginning of Florida’s Phase 1 reopening May 4, hundreds of restaurants may have flaunted social distancing regulations and bars, pubs and nightclubs illegally served alcohol in defiance of the executive orders signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

In the first week alone, based on public records requested by the USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida, members of the public lodged 111 complaints against restaurants and bars not following the rules of the Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step plan.

Florida residents filed an additional 224 complaints from May 11 through May 26 with the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) as Florida’s reopening expanded to include Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

Any restaurant or bar owner found in violation of the governor’s orders faced a second degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. But no fines were levied and no enforcement action was taken in those 335 cases discovered by the USA TODAY FLORIDA NETWORK.

“At this time, inspectors have worked with license holders to educate them on the executive orders and bring them into compliance and no fines or administrative cases have been filed at this time,” DBPR spokeswoman Karen Smith said.

Asked for interviews with DBPR Secretary Halsey Beshears, Smith said he was unavailable for comment.

Apparently, that laissez-faire approach stops this week. At a news conference Saturday, when the state posted a record-breaking 4,049 new confirmed cases after a week-long streak of record-breaking numbers, DeSantis said DBPR would begin cracking down on restaurants and bars that violate the rules.

“We really want to send a message of doubling down on what we’ve been preaching ... since the start of Phase 1,” DeSantis said. “You do hear reports about people just jam-packed in some of these places (and) that is not what we are wanting to do. DBPR is going to be enforcing that.”

He noted that many of those places are where young adults congregate, observing that the rate of infection is growing among young adults in their 20s and 30s.


“When those very reasonable guidelines are disobeyed, it ends up defeating the purpose of what we are trying to accomplish,” he said.

Even as many restaurants take the virus seriously – requiring mask and reporting positive cases on social media – a rash of outbreaks among customers and employees has forced some bars and restaurants across the state to shut down again as Florida heads into what was supposed to be a more robust Phase 2 that began June 5.

“At the local level everybody is doing what they can, but DBPR – based on their own statements – has said they’re not doing much of anything to enforce this,” said state Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Hollywood and the ranking Democrat on the House Commerce Committee. “They need to step in to fill the void in leadership.”

Neither the Department of Health nor DBPR track restaurant and bar closings due to the coronavirus. The state doesn’t require restaurants and bars to test their workers before they can report to work or notify customers of positive cases.

The state has seen a two-week surge in the daily numbers of people testing positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This past week, Florida added 24,000 new cases of coronavirus to its toll, nearly hitting 94,000 on Saturday.

More troubling, the infection rate has been 12, 13 and 14%.

“They definitely go hand in hand,” Jenne said of the lax adherence to social distancing and the latest spike in coronavirus cases.


The first part of Phase 1 reopening allowed restaurants to open at 25% capacity, and have outside dining as long as tables were six feet apart and parties of no larger than 10 people were served. Any bar, nightclub or pub that got more than 50% of gross revenue from alcohol sales were not permitted to open.

Most of the first batch of complaints that first week were from people who saw bars open and doing brisk business a month before the state said they could.

Bars all across Florida — Clearwater, Fort Lauderdale, Panama City Beach, Pompano Beach, Ocala, Jacksonville, Sanford, St. Petersburg, Tampa and Winter Garden — were reportedly serving alcohol despite the ban.

A biker bar in Graceville was open until 5 p.m., one complainant said, and “patrons parked on (the) back side to avoid detection.”

Likewise, a tiki bar in Fleming Island was “operating as a bar selling alcohol with seating at bar. Hidden from the street view by marina,” the complainant said.

One Naples bar rented space to food trucks as a way to get around the prohibition on bars, the complainant said, “but they do not own any of them so they are ONLY a bar and therefore cannot be open under Phase I.”

One complaint came from the city attorney for West Melbourne, who said his police department didn’t have the resources to handle the matter after getting complaints from local residents that a long-established sports bar that didn’t serve food had reopened.