TOLEDO, Ohio — A Toledo restaurant was shut down Tuesday after it was ordered to close by the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department.
The health department sent a letter Monday to Vida Cantina/R&R Restaurants to cease and desist, stating that the current license holder is not a valid LLC.
WTOL 11 knocked on the door to Vida Cantina on Monroe Street in Toledo on Tuesday and it was locked. A beer delivery driver also attempted to reach someone inside, he said, for the second time that day for a delivery, but was also unable to reach anyone.
In its letter to Vida Cantina and R&R Restaurants, the health department said a food facility must have a valid LLC or license holder as the responsible party. But according to the secretary of state, the license holder no longer exists, so they're operating without a license.
According to Ohio Revised Code, "No person or government entity shall operate a food service operation without a license."
The restaurant faced a fine of up to $1000 each day it remained open without a license.
WTOL 11 talked to the former owner, Sergio Rios, Tuesday who said the situation is a misunderstanding because he canceled his LLC, instead of transferring it to the new owners.
"We sold Vida in May and there's a transfer process that happens with the liquor license and health department to new owners," Rios said. "We accidentally canceled our LLC at the start of the transfer process and reinstated it today to get things in order for the new owners."
Rios said the new owners were under the impression that they were operating the restaurant under his LLC.
However, Rios and R&R Restaurants are still listed on health department records as the responsible party, which is what caused the problem.
Health commissioner Karimi Baroudi said that the restaurant could reopen in a few days.
"They reached out and are working on how they can obtain a new license with a new name," Baroudi said.
According to food inspection reports on the health department's website, the restaurant was also forced to stop serving prepared foods in August after a problematic inspection on Aug. 20 when it received 22 critical and 25 non-critical violations.
The restaurant was cited for failing to submit changes to the menu and restaurant name, "Breeze Bar & Grill," to the health department, which must be approved. The health department also wrote in its report, "due to the violations present in the facility at the time of the inspection, the restaurant was shut down. No food is to be prepared from the kitchen."
Critical violations were issued for the presence of gnats, foods not being properly date marked, foods not being held at proper temperatures and several cleanliness issues.
Baroudi said a re-inspection was performed two days later and the restaurant was allowed to reopen.