Willie’s Chicken Shack Responds to Being Shut Down
Multiple locations of Willie’s Chicken Shack were shut down for violating coronavirus rules over the weekend in New Orleans. The chain is a fried chicken and daiquiri shop with eight locations in and around the French Quarter. According to Nola.com, several locations were caught breaking rules based on the coronavirus safety guidelines. New restrictions were put into place last week that will close down bars entirely and ban restaurants from serving to-go drinks.
New Orleans has been increasing the restrictions and guidelines for restaurants this month due to the increase of COVID-19 cases. The city has also stepped up enforcement of these rules with the creation of a task force looking for violators. Willie’s Chicken Shack may be the most significant action so far against a business.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell said, “There was a lot of attention at Willie’s and my task force was on the ground and as a result of that, those locations were closed and will remain closed throughout this pandemic until we get to a point where we can relax restrictions, but we’re not there yet.”
In an emailed statement, a representative of Willie’s said the chain closed all of its restaurants because they were unable to prevent their patrons from leaving their premises with drinks in their hands after their meals. They went on to say that the patrons of Willies’ disregarded all the signs prohibiting the removal of drinks from the restaurant, and they do not have the staff available to enforce that policy.