Columbus restaurants win injunction; lawyer up in fight against the city

A Franklin County judge has put the kibosh on the 10 p.m. bar and restaurant closure passed by Columbus City Council Monday. It would have gone into effect tonight. The temporary injunction is for 14 days.

Eleven Columbus-area bars and restaurants were listed on a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the City of Columbus, Columbus Public Health, Mayor Andrew J. Ginther, and CPH Health Commissioner Dr. Mysheika Roberts over the new hours of operation. The lawsuit was filed by local attorneys Edward Hastie and Thomas Jeffcott. (614) reached out to Hastie but didn’t receive a comment at time of publication.

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In the suit, it’s mentioned that Columbus-area bars and restaurants “have cooperated with health authorities and directives to prevent and control the spread of infectious diseases.” This includes businesses having to buy sanitation equipment to do deep cleaning and partitions so guests can socially distance once bars and restaurants reopened again in May.

It was also stated that health and city officials changed the closing time for restaurants and bars “without reliable scientific data.”

The 11 Columbus-area bars and restaurants included as plaintiffs are Pins Mechanical Company, 16-Bit Bar + Arcade, Late Night Slice, Oddfellows Liquor Bar, Threes Above High, Fours on High, Pastimes Pub & Grill, Quarry Co. Bar and Grill, Zeno’s, Oldfield’s, and Leo’s on the Alley.

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