Adamson Barbecue clear to re-open — with conditions

Published Dec 14, 2020 • 1 minute read

Adam Skelly, the owner of Adamson Barbecue in Toronto, opened his business a day after city officials ordered his restaurant to close, on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk /Toronto Sun

Weeks after being forced to close for publicly shirking COVID-19 lockdown rules, the path has been cleared for a notorious Etobicoke barbecue restaurant to re-open its doors.

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On Monday, Toronto Public Health lifted the order issued Nov. 24 under Sec. 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) that gave Chief Medical Officer Eileen de Villa the power to close down the Queen Elizabeth Blvd. location of Adamson Barbecue.

The restaurant owner’s defiance against the COVID-19 lockdowns became a touchpoint for small business rights and personal liberty in the midst of an international pandemic.

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Business owner Adam Skelly is free to re-open his restaurant under the terms of the province’s Reopening Ontario Act, which limits restaurants in locked-down cities to takeout, delivery or drive-through service — and only after the restaurateur passes a DineSafe health inspection and obtains a valid business licence.

The restaurant, says the city, remains in violation of the city’s business licence requirements.

While the Sec. 22 order has been lifted, a restraining order issued Dec. 4 means any owner, employee, agent or supporter of Adamson Barbecue who violates the lockdown rules would be in contempt to court and subject to immediate fines or imprisonment. Skelly has until Dec. 29 to respond to the restraining order.

Requests for comment from Skelly’s lawyer went unreturned by press time.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume

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