(Cleveland)- Two restaurants in the city of Cleveland have agreed to pay a $1,000 fine rather than observe a suspension of sales period for the violation of the city’s alcohol ordinance. At a special city council meeting Wednesday, the council agreed to accept the fines to be paid by JW Reeds/Ma Gooch’s Enterprises and Café Cancun.
Those restaurants were cited back in July by the city police department for violation of a section of the city’s ordinance that requires alcohol sales only for consumption with the purchase of meals on the premises.
Ed Ward owner of JW Reeds says he doesn’t believe that its right to make someone consume food in order to have an alcoholic beverage and he has been campaigning to get the city to makes changes as it relates to food consumption.
According to Ward, less than half of a percent of the people who come into his business just want to have a beer or beverage. Ward attended the Wednesday meeting and said afterwards, “we don’t feel like we violated the ordinance. We do believe the ordinance is very vague and ambiguous, it’s hard to force someone to eat a meal. I also believe the public never voted for that to be in the ordinance.”
Ward told the council he was ok with the fine, but will actively work to change the ordinance.
