The Green Lemon was forced to shut down on Tuesday night after a crowd gathered to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.
In a social media post, the South Tampa hotspot with particularly good margaritas said that it made the decision to close its doors at 7:20 p.m. when the precautions the restaurant had in place could not handle the thirsty, partially sombrero-ed masses.
“Thank you so much for coming out to support us today for Cinco de Mayo ♥️,” the post said. “In fact SO many of you came out to that we felt that even with the precautions we put in place, we couldn’t serve you in an environment that we were comfortable with, due to volume and our ability to keep us all 6ft apart. Social safe!”
In a statement to WFLA, Ciccio Restaurant Group’s (CRG) Jordan Warshavsky said The Green Lemon fell short after being swamped by requests for in-person dining, takeout and third party delivery orders.
“By 6 o’clock, our team members and technology were failing to keep up with a pace to responsibly serve our guests and safely maintain social distancing guidelines,” Warshavsky wrote, adding that, at that point, The Green Lemon provided refunds for all outstanding orders and gave away remaining food to disperse the crowds.
Warshavsky said his group was “incredibly embarrassed,” but expressed gratitude to Tampa Police, Code Enforcement, guests and neighbors for being accommodating and gracious.
The Green Lemon—located at 915 S. Howard Ave. in Tampa—is supposed to open again today at 1 p.m.
CRG—which owns other South Tampa concepts like Fresh Kitchen and Daily Eats along with the fitness studio Camp (stylized “CAMP”)—just opened a new dual-concept called Water + Flour, just a few blocks down from The Green Lemon at 1015 S. Howard Ave.
A 12-bullet slide from Tampa Mayor Jane Castor’s Lift Up Local recovery plan for restaurants says that restaurants says that patrons must be seated at a table or leave the establishment.
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This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2020.
