Alcohol license suspended for 3 Orlando bars due to violation of coronavirus order, state says

LAKE MARY, Fla. - The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) has suspended the alcohol license for Mathers LLC & Dobson Family Trust, the company which oversees operations for Joysticks, Mathers, and Shots in Downtown Orlando.

The suspension is said to be the result of a violation of emergency orders related to the coronavirus pandemic.

"Patrons were standing shoulder-to-shoulder while congregating at the bar area. Social distancing measures were not being enforced,” according to filings from the DBPR.

The order did not specify which of the three bars was in violation of state regulations. The full order is published below this article and also be found at this link (PDF).

Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 29, issued the Phase 1 reopening plan under which establishments that derived more than 50 percent gross revenue from the sale of alcohol were directed to suspend those sales of beverages for on-premises consumption. 

On June 3, Phase 2 was enacted, which allowed bars and other vendors to operate at 50 percent capacity (bars could reopen for seated service but nightclubs were not permitted to reopen).

After a spike in coronavirus in June, the DBPR once again suspended sales of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption at establishments that derived more than 50 percent gross revenue from the sale of alcohol.

Last month, as COVID-19 cases continued to soar across the state. DeSantis indicated that bars would not be opening anytime soon, issuing a stark warning to businesses that defy the state’s social distancing guidelines, threatening to revoke business licenses from bars and restaurants.