Just because the weather is getting nicer does not mean that COVID-19 is over.
According to TMZ, Georgia State Police shut down 2 Chainz’s restaurant on Monday night, during its Memorial Day Weekend party, after noticing “the location was rather loud, busy and occupied to be operating as a restaurant at that time of night.”
Georgia’s governor allowed restaurants to open back up earlier this month under statewide protocol, which meant that businesses would have to follow strict safety guidelines to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19 cases. This limited dine-in services to 10 patrons max per table — and permitted 10 patrons inside per 300 square feet of public space.
Nowhere in the protocol does it list hosting Memorial Day parties — which is where Escobar messed up.
Escobar posted a number of videos to its Instagram Story on Monday, showcasing just how packed the restaurant had become. People were dancing, smoking hookah, ordering bottle service and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, with little regard for social-distancing guidelines. A line also formed down the block as the night went on.
Officers initially issued a warning on May 24 that the establishment was in violation of state guidelines, by not enforcing social distancing and by having more than 10 patrons per 300 square feet, before ordering its shutdown.
2 Chainz initially received a backlash to the announcement he was planning to reopen Escobar, prompting him to reconsider and pass out meals to the homeless instead. But ultimately he must have changed his mind, if he then decided it was reasonable to host a Memorial Day party instead.