KINGSTON, Jamaica – A Chelsea Avenue restaurant is at odds with the Kingston and St Andrew Health Department following the reported violation of a closure notice for alleged breaches of the Public Health Regulations.

Pinyatas, located on 9A Chelsea Avenue, advertised a seafood boil party via Instagram and WhatsApp on Friday, but the health authorities say the restaurant had no business operating as it had been shut down on March 26 after an inspection the day before.

When the Jamaica Observer visited the restaurant about 3:00 pm Friday, there were no patrons in sight but several employees were at the facility. One drink refrigerator lay empty, however, an undated menu board had been written up advertising lobster, fish and sides.

All the employees who spoke to Observer Online said they had no clue about a closure ordered by the health department. When the news team made queries about the state of the kitchen, one of the workers said: “Nothing is wrong they keep the place clean.”

However, after some time, one of the employees quickly erased the menu board and began to indicate that the restaurant was indeed closed, now saying they only were on site to clean.

“[If the interview is over] we are closed,” another employee said, adding that they wanted to shut the doors to sanitise, while gently ushering the news team out.

This was despite multiple advertisements of a seafood party scheduled for that evening posted online.

Around 4 pm, three patrons walked up to the restaurant and indicated they too had seen an ad on Instagram and came to purchase seafood. They were turned away from the door.

Despite the apparent closure for cleaning, however, the restaurant was re-opened half an hour later.

When a message was sent to the Pinyatas social media account inquiring about the seafood boil, it responded, “Yes we are [open]”, and even shared that free seafood would come with the purchase of a daiquiri and lobster soup for $2,000.

Closure notices are effective “as soon as they are posted on the door”, according to the health department.

A photo of the alleged March 26 closure notice to a “Sobena Green” regarding Pinyata’s Lounge Restaurant and Bar, which should have been posted at the entrance, was shared with the Observer.

An accompanying sheet indicated the issues that had reportedly forced the closure including “live roaches seen in the serving area”, “a pungent odour in the dry and cold storage areas,” and “rodent droppings in the dry storage area.”

Also cited was an open “manhole” covered only by a barrel cover near to where food was being prepared and broken plumbing fixtures in the food preparation area which allowed wastewater to collect on the floor.

Representatives of the health department also indicated there had been issues with the male owner pf the establishment who allegedly provided someone else’s name to the authorities and told the inspectors “they can’t close his place.”

The owner, identified as ‘Skilachi’, who was not on site, spoke to Observer Online over the phone. He refused to say much, indicating, “there is nothing to that matter” but then said, “everything is finalised with the health department.”

A representative of the department claimed that the reported closure notice had been illegally removed from the doors and the business allegedly reopened without authorisation the same day it was shuttered.

When asked about the alleged removal of the notice, Skilachi said “no, no notice was posted.”

The businessman also refused to give his real name.

Owners of surrounding businesses and landlady Chevanne Wilson were also on the premises, all of whom reiterated they were clueless about the closure order, though one business owner indicated he had seen the health department at another restaurant on property recently.

“That [closure notice] is news to me,” said Wilson, who rents the space that houses Pinyatas, but has no other connection with the business. She indicated that though she was not often on site, the restaurant owner was a good tenant who was diligent in paying bills.

According to the notice, the corrective action that Pinyatas would have had to take to be reopened included pest control with a registered pest control agency, fixing ongoing plumbing issues, providing suitable covering for the manhole in question and adequate screening.

The social media advertisements have since been deleted.

The health department said there was a process to reopening which included a reassessment of the property and firmly refuted any claims that the issue had been resolved.

Photo of the Health Department notice reportedly issued to Pinyatas Lounge on March 26th

The interior of Pinyata’s Lounge on 9A Chelsea Avenue (Photo: Llewelyn Wynter)

Advertisements for a Seafood Boil Party were posted to the Pinyatas Lounge Instagram page before being removed late Friday