State charges 22 bars, including A&B in Princeton, with violating COVID-19 executive orders

ByKrystal Knapp

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced Friday evening that the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control has issued charges against 22 bars, restaurants, breweries and liquor stores for violating executive orders related to COVID-19.

The Alchemist and Barrister in Princeton is one of 20 establishments named by Grewal that face a suspension of their liquor licenses for at least 10 days. Two other establishments were issued fines for lesser COVID-19 related infractions, officials said.

According to the Attorney General’s office, the Alchemist and Barrister allegedly violated executive orders on or about March 19 by allowing patrons to eat or drink at the bar instead of taking items to go. The Alchemist and Barrister also received an additional 10-day suspension for “aggravating circumstances.” Planet Princeton reached out to the management of the Alchemist and Barrister for comment on Friday to find out if the bar owner plans to contest the charges, but has not received a response yet.

Under the executive orders issued by Governor Phil Murphy, businesses licensed to sell alcohol in the state are permitted to remain open during the COVID-19 state-of-emergency, but only for take-out or delivery services of food and alcohol. No table or bar service is permitted, on-premise alcohol consumption is prohibited, and alcoholic beverages “to go” must be in sealed original containers. The establishments facing suspension for violating the orders are:

  • Alchemist and Barrister in Princeton
  • Bask Bar and Grill in Woodland Park
  • Buteco Sports Bar in Long Branch
  • Core 3 Brewery in Clayton
  • Devil’s Creek Brewery in Collingswood
  • Disabled American Veterans, Clifton Chapter #2 in Clifton
  • Lina’s Restaurant in Bloomingdale
  • Linwood Inn in Linden
  • Medina Liquor Store in Elizabeth
  • Old Glory Kitchen and Spirits in Keyport
  • Quilvio’s Tavern in Paterson
  • Rail’s Steak House in Towaco
  • Randolph Diner in Randolph
  • Riviera Maya in Branchville
  • Riviera Maya in Rockaway
  • Tacos El Tio in Medford
  • Taphouse 15 in Wharton
  • The Sawmill in Seaside Heights
  • Vincenzo’s Ristorante in Middlesex

The establishments that received smaller fines are:

  • Juliano’s Restaurant in Egg Harbor Township ($500) for offering investigators a beer before they identified themselves.
  • The Liquor King in Pennsauken ($750) for violating face mask requirements.
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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.

7 Comments

  2. Prosecute them all to the fullest charges their hurting all NJ residents and being selfish MAKE THEM EXAMPLES OR OTHERS WILL DO THE SAME how many NJ have to die our family is hurting from the loss of a family member and I know other families that lost 3 members They have no right to be open we all suffering and we all have bills to pay but selfish greedy people most of us NJ residents care about each other Apparently not those owners and the people who also committed crimes I’m so mad about this take their Liquor license away ????????????

  3. Thank you for posting this list. I will make sure to visit each and every one of them after the pandemic. Even AG Barr says that no crisis takes away our Bill of Rights. So I applaud them for their bravery and patriotism.

  5. At least one of these establishments, Old Glory in Keyport, was not cited for serving in the bar, but for serving sangria outside of original sealed containers.

    If you’re going to list all the businesses, you should take the time to individually list what they were cited for. I’m not saying laws weren’t broken, but i’s irresponsible to allow for people to question if their local spot is serving at the bar.

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