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Restaurant, wine bar, and concert venue City Winery is closing temporarily at Ponce City Market, according to statements posted to Instagram and the website Tuesday. Only the patio at City Winery has been open for live music, wine, and food since restaurants were allowed to resume dine-in service in April. Along with Atlanta, locations in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Boston also closed temporarily today.
“The length of the temporary closure is unclear at this time, but we are optimistic that it will only last a short while,” the post from CEO Michael Dorf states. “Ultimately, that timing will be dictated by uncontrollable factors that we are hopeful will work in our favor sooner than later.”
It’s unclear why these particular City Winery locations closed. Eater Atlanta reached out for more details.
A surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations across Georgia over the last month lead to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms enacting a mask mandate for the public and rolling back the city’s reopening to phase one. Under these voluntary phase one guidelines, restaurants are advised to (but not required to) close dining rooms and return to takeout.
In response, Gov. Brian Kemp filed a lawsuit challenging Atlanta’s mask mandate and the rollback of the city’s reopening, stating the mayor cannot impose stricter COVID-19 measures greater than those laid out under his emergency powers during the pandemic. Kemp calls a statewide mask mandate a “bridge too far.”
According to the AJC, a hearing was to take place this morning on the matter in Fulton County Superior Court. The hearing was postponed after two judges recused themselves from the case. A new hearing date has not been issued. Several other cities across the state, including Athens and Savannah, also have mask mandates in place. None of these cities are included in the governor’s lawsuit.
