A D.C. bar celebrated by conservatives as its liquor license was suspended in January for violating vaccine rules said it would reopen after the suspension was lifted Thursday.

       In January, the Big Board, a bar in Northeast Washington’s H Street Corridor, had its liquor license suspended after receiving thousands of dollars in fines as well as written and verbal warnings for unmasked employees and not checking customers’ vaccine status. The city lifted those requirements in February.

       Wp Get the full experience.Choose your plan ArrowRight

       The bar, also cited for D.C. food code violations, was feted in conservative media and visited by conservative lawmakers, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

       A D.C. bar violated vaccine rules. Its liquor license is being suspended.

       As Barred in DC first reported, the District’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) approved Wednesday an “offer-in-compromise” that lifted the Big Board’s license suspension effective Thursday. The bar, which raised nearly $58,000 in crowdfunding campaigns, will pay $4,000 in fines without admitting liability.

       Advertisement

       Story continues below advertisement

       “The establishment was the only one to have its license suspended due to violations of Mayor’s Orders and rulemaking implemented to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” ABRA spokesman Jared J. Powell said in an email.

       Lisa Gates, spokeswoman for the conservative Ohio-based legal organization the Buckeye Institute, which represents Big Board owner Eric Flannery, said that the liquor license “was the final issue to resolve.”

       “He is all set to go,” Gates wrote of Flannery in an email. “He will need a few weeks to get restocked with food and beverages and get staffing back in place, so he hasn’t yet set an exact reopening date.”

       In an interview with The Washington Post last month, Flannery said he came to D.C. after serving in the Navy and working as a senior nuclear reactor operator in Washington state. He opened the Big Board in 2011 after his brother had a vision of Northeast as “a fantastic place,” he said.

       Advertisement

       Story continues below advertisement

       Making the vision a reality came with struggles, however. Flannery said he lost his life savings in 2020 amid the pandemic despite support programs. “Just to keep my doors open, I need to bring in $100,000 every month,” he said.

       According to ProPublica’s PPP 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 was not disclosed.

       Big Board was forced to closed just as vaccine rules across the city were relaxed, Flannery said. He argued Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) “lacked the authority to issue the orders in the first place.”

       “I think it’s kind of crazy that every other place in D.C. is open and we’re not,” he said in February.

       Still, Flannery said taking a stand against vaccine rules was “the right thing to do.”

       “Bars and restaurants should be places where everybody’s welcome,” he said. “I don’t really get into the political spectrum.”

       .@thebigboarddc got its liquor license back. DCRA reinstated Mar 1st

       Won’t reopen immediately since need to restock/rehire.

       In the end, had its liquor license suspended nearly 50 days and was fined $4,000.

       Raised about $58,000 via crowdsourced fundraising to offset https://t.co/s4WeJR0i6A

       — Barred in DC (@BarredinDC) March 17, 2022