HOMEWOOD, Ala. (AP) -- State regulators have suspended the alcohol license of a Birmingham-area bar over alleged violations of the state's pandemic health order in what an official described as the first such case under COVID-19 rules.
Regulators accused Grocery Brewpub in Homewood of violating rules about face mask requirements, occupancy limits and social distancing, Alabama ABC spokesman Dean Argo told WBMA-TV. The emergency suspension issued Tuesday was Alabama's first license suspension linked to pandemic health rules, he said.
Photos shared recently on social media showed people packed into the nightspot with few face masks visible. Bar owner Rayford Cook told the station the business was cited for violating Alabama's mask ordinance, which requires facial coverings in public.
"I look forward to our upcoming hearing regarding this matter and addressing it so we can provide a safe environment for patrons to enjoy in the future," Cook said in a statement.
A hearing is expected in April, but the business cannot serve alcohol until then.
More than 490,000 people in Alabama have been tested positive for the new coronavirus, state statistics show, and more than 9 ,740 had died of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. An order which has been in place since July requires face masks in public when within 6 feet (2 meters) of someone from another household.