As patrons packed Adamson Barbecue in Etobicoke on Tuesday, proudly defying rules to not eat indoors during the lockdown, city enforcement and Toronto police officers did nothing to stop the long line of customers from making its way inside.
Owner Adam Skelly vowed on social media to open on Tuesday as normal, creating the first major public test of new COVID-19 measures that came into effect Monday.
Restaurants are allowed to offer takeout and delivery, but are not allowed to have indoor or outdoor diners in Toronto under lockdown measures imposed by the province for at least the next 28 days.
Skelly’s restaurant stayed open for its regular hours, until 4 p.m., when the city announced that Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s medical officer of health, had ordered it closed under the provincial Health Protection and Promotion Act.
“Investigations require the gathering of all the facts before enforcement action can be taken. The city has now taken enforcement action, and the restaurant is closed,” the press release said, adding the restaurant is also under investigation for compliance with business licensing, zoning, public health, Ontario Building Code and Ontario Fire Code requirements.
Earlier, inspectors found the restaurant to be in contravention of the province’s Reopening Ontario Act, with indoor and outdoor dining service “with many patrons not wearing masks and not practising physical distancing.”
After the restaurant had been serving customers for nearly two hours, Toronto Police Insp. Tim Crone told reporters that though it was open illegally, officers would not be moving in to clear out diners.
“Obviously, by the sheer number of people that are here right now, we don’t have the ability to go in and physically remove everyone at this point and it would be unsafe to do so,” Crone said.
Public health and bylaw enforcement officers conducted an investigation, Crone said, with police on scene to “ensure public safety” and support the city officials.
Later in the afternoon, Staff Supt. Mark Barkley said Toronto police would work with city officials to ensure de Villa’s order is followed.
“If he opens tomorrow, we will be here, we will have a presence and we will ensure compliance with the order,” he said
Barkley said the police had a “misunderstanding of what we should do and how we should do it” on Tuesday and the direction to not move in to disperse diners was not the “appropriate direction.”
“Plain and simple, it was a mistake this morning.”
Barkley said that patrons dining inside the restaurant could have been fined under provincial legislation, but because of the “misunderstanding,” they weren’t. He said officers will be better prepared in future to deal with a similar situation.
There has been no information about possible fines for Adamson or Skelly.
Shortly after the restaurant opened at 11 a.m. for business, two bylaw enforcement officers, a public health inspector and two uniformed police officers could be seen entering the Queen Elizabeth Boulevard location to speak with employees, including an agitated Skelly.
Skelly, who shouted at reporters about staying off his property and warmly welcomed guests, later emerged from the restaurant saying he had not been fined and refused to speak to a reporter further.
Premier Doug Ford — who has previously branded people going to parties in violation of pandemic regulations as “reckless” or “a bunch of yahoos” — adopted a more moderate tone on Tuesday about Adamson.
“I just want the guy to shut down,” said Ford, who is taking heat for a lockdown that forces small non-essential businesses in Toronto and Peel to close while Walmart and Costco stay open because they sell food and pharmacy items.
“I’m not going to get up here and start pounding on a small business owner when the guy’s hanging on by his fingernails,” the premier added. “My heart goes out.”
But Ford reinforced the importance of following public health protocols with new cases of COVID-19 averaging 1,395 daily in the last week, near all-time highs.
“If everyone does what he does…you’re going to be asking me another question when we start hitting 2,000 or 3,000 cases a day. That’s the last thing we want to happen.”
Mayor John Tory also struck a more moderate tone, telling reporters that everyone is entitled to protest and that he doesn’t direct enforcement.
“As a general rule, we can’t have people deciding they’re going to take the law into their own hands,” he said.
He repeated that he believes the time for warnings is over and that the city should be “registering a serious message about the breaking of the law.”
Coun. Mark Grimes, who represents the area, was outside the restaurant on Tuesday.
“This is a relatively new restaurant — it opened a few months back. So either this guy is the smartest guy or the dumbest. I think it might be a publicity stunt, I’m not too sure,” Grimes said.
“Kind of concerning that some people don’t want to follow the rules.”
Outside the white painted building, a crowd started to form shortly before doors opened, with patrons mostly not wearing masks and few socially distancing. A few shouted vitriol at reporters, some using megaphones.
One man, who refused to give his name, claimed the test for COVID-19 was a “lie” and that the opening was not at all dangerous, instead criticizing journalists for publishing “false evidence.”
Another man, who also refused to give his full name, acknowledged dining indoors was potentially dangerous, but said he defended his and others’ right to choose for themselves.
Some wore Guy Fawkes masks and cheered as passing cars on the largely industrial strip next to the Gardiner Expressway drove by to honk in support.
One was a marked city of Toronto truck, the driver of whom fist-bumped several protesters. Brad Ross, the city spokesperson, said the employee was not a bylaw officer and that the city was investigating.
Skelly posted a video on the Texas BBQ restaurant’s official Instagram on Monday to tell followers the newly opened Etobicoke location would be opening for inside dining “against provincial orders” starting at 11 a.m.
“For those of you who have eyes to see why I’m doing this, thank you guys so much,” Skelly said.
“This is a risky move and you guys gave me the gas to do this.”
with files from Rob Ferguson and David Rider
Jennifer Pagliaro is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:
