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Four more Dallas bars have been slapped with liquor license suspensions by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission after an investigation found that the establishments were violating COVID-19 safety guidelines.
Shuck N Jive, High Fives, Bungalow, XOXO Dining Room, and Alamo Club have all been issued 30-day suspensions of their liquor licenses, according to a press release issued by the TABC. As the coronavirus pandemic drags on, many of Dallas’s bars have applied to reopen as restaurants under a waiver issued by the TABC, which would allow them to operate at 75 percent capacity. Per WFAA, the four establishments failed TABC inspections to “enforce the state’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.”
In an Instagram post, Alamo Club attributed the suspension to a misunderstanding related to the specific type of permit the establishment needed to operate. “TABC has made us aware that our current food permit is not the same as the new food certificate,” the post reads. “So we have filled out the appropriate paperwork and cut the sizeable check, but we must close until we receive the correct permit.”
Even though Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced two weeks ago that bars could reopen at 50 percent capacity in most counties, Dallas County judge Clay Jenkins has not yet allowed that to happen. Under Abbott’s most recent executive order, the decision to reopen bars is ultimately up to the county judge in each county.
The news comes one week after two DFW bars — the Whippersnapper in Dallas and Ampersand in Fort Worth — were slapped with suspensions for violating capacity guidelines and other COVID-19 safety protocols. The same happened back in June, when Marty’s Live, the New PR’s, and Harris House of Heroes were issued license suspensions.
Update, 2:40 p.m.: This post has been updated to include clarification from Alamo Club on its license suspension.
