Lamont Calls Out Fairfield Pub 'Flagrantly' Breaking Virus Rules

FAIRFIELD, CT — Connecticut’s governor referenced a Fairfield restaurant “flagrantly disregarding the rules” when he recently discussed the importance of compliance with coronavirus safety requirements.

The Brickyard Pub has "gotten some notoriety" for violating the rules, Gov. Ned Lamont said Tuesday at a news conference in West Hartford.

The Fairfield business on Friday was shut down by authorities for the weekend after the eatery violated state orders related to mask use and capacity limits, according to police, who said the owner of the restaurant was also fined. Officials saw about 50 people standing outside the pub at 93 Post Road, many of whom were not wearing masks, police said, adding that inside, the crowd exceeded the 75 percent capacity limit of 112 people.

"The majority of the patrons observed within Brickyard Pub were found to be gathered at the bar and were found not to be wearing face masks," police said Saturday in a news release.

Authorities had received numerous complaints in recent weeks about the business, according to police.

The governor said customers who patronize establishments that violate virus regulations "are not only endangering yourselves, you're endangering your families, you are making it more likely that your community, in this case Fairfield, will have to close down a school."

Lamont’s news conference followed a weekend when Connecticut recorded over 2,000 new coronavirus cases. The governor warned that bars violating mask and distancing requirements were a significant source of the problem and could trigger tighter restrictions.

In addition to the Brickyard Pub’s closure, the owner of La Costeñita Bar & Restaurant in Danbury was arrested Friday after officials said they learned of violations through social media.

Fairfield and Danbury are on Connecticut’s red alert list, a designation that applies to municipalities with a two-week average daily coronavirus case rate above 15 cases per 100,000 people.

“If you get it right then we can stay open. If you can't get it right, then we can't keep everybody open,” Lamont said.

Brickyard Pub owner Jennifer Lynn Wilson said Sunday she had been working with authorities to ensure compliance and had six doormen on duty Friday to keep the business at capacity and customers in their seats. The restaurant was open only to sit-down patrons with reservations and staff were trying to enforce a "sit down or get out policy," according to Wilson.

“I feel like we're being painted as negligent and that's the furthest from how I run the place," she said.

Wilson also said police and health authorities did not do a headcount Friday.