NEW ORLEANS — Known for fried chicken and daiquiris, Willie’s Chicken Shack, with eight locations around the French Quarter in New Orleans, is closed. Mayor LaTonya Cantrell says the business wasn’t complying with new restrictions that went into effect over the weekend.
“We did have a couple of bad actors,” said Cantrell when asked about compliance during a news conference Monday.
While not directly mentioning violations, at least some of the chain’s locations were reportedly serving alcoholic drinks to-go, which is prohibited. That restriction is part of the city’s efforts to stop the spread of coronavirus.
“There was a lot of attention there and so my task force was on the ground and as a result of that, those locations are closed,” said Cantrell.
Willie’s Chicken Shack management team released a statement Monday.
“Willie’s closed all of its restaurants because we were unable to prevent our patrons from leaving our premises with drinks in hand after their meals,” reads the statement “Willie’s patrons simply disregarded our signs prohibiting the removal of drinks from our premises, and we do not have the staff available to enforce our policy. We strongly support the City’s efforts to fight the virus and hope to reopen Willie’s as soon as it is prudent to do so under the City’s guidelines."
In neighboring Jefferson Parish, which isn’t as restrictive as New Orleans, there are concerns over large gatherings. Video sent to WWL, shows cars parked for blocks Saturday night along the Westbank Expressway in Harvey, leading up to a crowd of people outside of a bar called Wo-De’s Chill Spot.
In Grand Isle, video now removed from Facebook shows a band playing to a crowd of folks not following guidelines at Sand Dollar Tiki Bar. Both bars have since had their permits suspended by the state office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, citing “public safety violations.”
“There’s no other way to say it, they’re irresponsible events,” said Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng. “As a community, we really need to work together all as one. I know people are tired of this.”
Sheng says those events are also dangerous and because of community spread, expects to see impacts.
“All those people live in all different parishes,” said Lee Sheng. “That’s why we need the enforcement. It’s to kind of prevent other people from doing events like this because we know right now this is dangerous activity for us as a community.”
A community where Lee Sheng and Cantrell say compliance will be enforced.
Two other bars also had permits suspended for non-compliance. One of them is Frosty Factory in Lake Charles. The other is Pelican Pub in Gonzales. Hearings for all four bars are set for next week.
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