A D.C. bar whose liquor license was suspended after it violated vaccine rules was granted a delay in an administrative proceeding Friday after its owner said he needed more time to prepare for the hearing and hire a lawyer.
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Eric Flannery, owner of the Big Board, had requested the hearing before the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, saying in a letter that if it were held virtually he sought to be provided with access to a computer because “I stepped on my laptop and it is broken.” On Friday, Flannery submitted another letter seeking the delay.
The Big Board, located in the Northeast Washington’s H Street corridor, has publicly battled the District’s mandate requiring that bar patrons show proof they have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
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Embraced by conservatives such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who dined there earlier this week, the bar lost its liquor license and closed entirely Tuesday after it was shut down for health violations.
D.C. bar that broke vaccine rules closed for health violations
On Friday, the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which had been set to hold a virtual hearing on the liquor license suspension, granted a one-week continuance.
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Flannery had asked that the hearing be held in person.
“In the event that the hearing is done virtually, I request … that someone please train me on the software and systems that will be used as I don’t use any virtual communication system regularly, and have not for many years,” Flannery wrote in a letter to the Control Board.
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In another request to the Control Board, Flannery said that he had unsuccessfully searched for a lawyer since Dec. 28 and sought a six-week continuance to find legal counsel.
“Due to the nature of our case, no attorney has been obtained,” Flannery wrote. “This time is necessary … to avail myself of the due process to which I am entitled.”
In documents submitted to the Control Board, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine opposed a continuance beyond two weeks, saying Flannery “is seeking such a long continuance to attempt to involve unnecessary and inappropriate witnesses,” including Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and D.C. Health Director LaQuandra Nesbitt.
“The District will vigorously oppose any such subpoena requests, including opposing an unnecessarily long continuance for the purpose of subpoenaing these witnesses,” the documents said.
Flannery did not respond to requests for comment Friday from The Washington Post. After the Big Board opened on H Street in 2011, he told WAMU that the bar’s fluctuating beer prices relied on an algorithm that “changes depending on how many people are here, what day of the week it is, what type of beers are being ordered.”
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In recent weeks, he has appeared in conservative media to express his opposition to the District’s vaccine rules. In one video posted Tuesday by the Daily Signal, Flannery appeared with Sen. Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)
“I just know that I’m doing the right thing and this place is supposed to be open,” Flannery said.
As the Big Board fights D.C.'s mandate, documents show it has received federal pandemic assistance.
According to ProPublica’s Paycheck Protection Program tracking database, Drane Flannery, the company that owns the Big Board, received $158,700 on May 1, 2020, and a second draw of $222,200 on Jan. 28, 2021. The first loan was forgiven on Sept. 16. The status of the second loan is unknown.
Tim Carman contributed to this report.