Restaurants around the city were permitted to open yesterday, as San Diego was given the green light to move further into Stage 2 of California's reopening plan. At least one local restaurant chose to forgo the mandates requiring facial coverings and social distancing, instead throwing an absolute rager. Hey El Prez Pacific Beach, please don't ruin it for the rest of us!
I would like to start by saying, I am primarily on this planet to eat well and have a good time. Nobody that knows me would say I don't party. With that said, what the f*ck, El Prez?!? What the hell were you thinking? Actions like these are going to mess things up for the San Diego restaurant industry as a whole and you will likely be shut down by the health department if you continue. Tighten it up and stop acting the fool. Ease into the party, don't just go balls to the wall on day one. You have people from across the country tweeting about you, tagging the San Diego Mayor!
El Prez Beach Bar & Cocina is the product of Pacific Beach Restaurant Group Limited Partnership, which was founded by Aaron Phillips in 2011. The company also owns and operates several other Pacific Beach bars & eateries, including Truckstop, PB Avenue, Woody's, Red's Saloon, and a yet-to-be-named concept opening soon in the former Tony Roma's space under Amplified Ale Works.
UPDATE: Following the initial publishing of this article, San Diego County representatives announced that they would be ramping up enforcement of the public health order, citing failure to comply by multiple restaurants. San Supervisor Nathan Fletcher also announced that El Prez was forced to shut down due to their failure to follow requirements for restaurants reopening. The restaurant is now pending approval by the county health department before they can reopen again.
"One of the most egregious of these examples was the El Prez restaurant located in the Pacific Beach area," said San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher at today's press briefing, right before showing a video with the bar filled with unmasked guests. "This facility is now closed. This facility will remain closed until further notice. The actions that you just saw in the video before you can trigger an outbreak and compromise our ability as a county to move farther along in the state's reopening plan. We simply cannot let one bad actor ruin it for everyone."
