City closes doors on bars in violation of COVID-19 restrictions, says ‘job not done yet’

A glass door with red and white “closed” store sign

Posted: Feb 6, 2021 / 01:15 PM AST

Updated: Feb 8, 2021 / 09:18 AM AST

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NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans is showing zero tolerance to bars failing to comply with the latest COVID-19 restrictions.

Friday night, the city shut down four bars in violation, which in some cases included serving patrons – some unmasked – beyond the 11 p.m. curfew and behind locked doors.

The bars closed were: Cadi Corner (2802 Cherry St.), TJ Quills (7600 Maple St.), The District (711 Tchoupitoulas St.) and The Red Eye (852 S. Peters St.).

The City of New Orleans overnight shut down several bars across the city for failure to comply with restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 700 residents. pic.twitter.com/JnuhR1yfFF
— Mayor LaToya Cantrell (@mayorcantrell) February 6, 2021

“Yesterday, we spoke directly to those bars who continue to break every guideline put in place by this Administration to protect our residents,” said Peter Bowen, Deputy CAO for the Office of Business & External Services, which oversees the Departments of Code Enforcement and Safety & Permits.

“We said we knew who you were, what you were doing, and how you were trying to hide what you were doing, and what we were going to do if you continued. This is what we mean, and we’re not done yet.”

At the time of publishing this report, WGNO has yet to hear back from the city regarding the extent of the closure and potential punishment for violating restrictions.

The City has been under a modified Phase 2 since Jan. 29, which included bars shutting down service at 11 p.m. The City announced additional restrictions Friday in advance of the last weekend of the Carnival season.