El Dorado County looks to shut down two restaurants operating without health permits

PLACERVILLE, Calif — Two restaurants in El Dorado County operating without health permits may be forced to shut down by the county. 

According to a press release from El Dorado County, a complaint has been filed in California Superior Court asking for the closure of Apple Bistro and Danette's Brick Oven Pub. 

The county's Environmental Management Department first suspended the health permits of the two restaurants in the summer of 2020. Then in September 2020, the county revoked the health permits for "violations of state and county health codes."

"The County issued a cease and desist letter to each establishment on October 21, 2021, stating the County would seek all applicable damages, fines and relief, including a closure order from the Court, if the restaurants continued to operate without a valid health permit by October 29, 2021," the press release reads. "The letters were ignored."

ABC10 reached out to Apple Bistro, who declined to comment. In a previous story by ABC10, El Dorado County Health officials said the restaurants' health permits were pulled July 31, 2020, after receiving numerous complaints. The owners at each restaurant were given a warning to comply with the state's order to close dine-in operations prior to having the permits revoked.

County Counsel David Livingston said in a statement the county has tried to work with the two restaurants for the past year. 

“For more than a year, the owners and managers of Apple Bistro and Danette’s Brick Oven have ignored our efforts and allowed, by virtue of continuing to operate, patrons to assume that they have a valid health permit to operate and that the food they consume is safe when in fact there have been no health and safety inspections since the suspension of their permits," Livingston said in the statement. "Unpermitted restaurants are, by definition, operating illegally and are not subject to inspections. An unsuspecting public may not know that.”

Click here to read the full complaint.

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