Venice Restaurant Temporarily Closes Over 'Draconian Measures'

VENICE, CA — Restaurants are taking a major hit in the wake of the pandemic, and a Venice cafe that's been open for 42 years is stepping back and temporarily closing during the holidays.

The Rose Venice announced this week that they would close for now and plan to reopen again in 2021.

"Dear Venice Community and beyond, After tonight's service here at The Rose Venice, we will be taking a much-needed break. The current state of draconian measures imposed on restaurants by the city of Los Angeles, Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Gov. Gavin Newsom have made it infeasible for us to continue to operate during these trying times. With that in mind, we have made the decision to take a hiatus for next few weeks to spend some time with our families and get some much-needed rest after the year we have had. We will also be polishing up The Rose for our return in 2021 when we hope to be free to host you as we always have for over 42 years. The coffee will be hot, the veggies will be fresh, and the smiles (and hopefully hugs) will be long when we return. We appreciate you all for being there for us over the years and we look forward to seeing you on the other side in a new year."

Venice Neighborhood Council members Wednesday pushed for the Los Angeles City Council to demand the county's Department of Public Health allow outdoor in-person dining to resume at restaurants.

At its Tuesday night meeting, the VNC passed a resolution that stated the county has allowed outdoor in-person dining on film sets and that it should set the same standards for brick-and-mortar establishments.

"Venice Neighborhood Council calls upon the city of Los Angeles to call upon the county Department of Public Health to immediately quantify the protocols under which film companies have been allowed to provide outside dining to their crews on film sets and to allow all restaurants in Los Angeles County to re-open outside dining under the same protocols," the resolution stated.

VNC Vice President George Francisco told City News Service that he recalled the vote being "almost unanimous" but the official tally was not immediately available.
The VNC resolution stated the pandemic has crippled the restaurant industry and threatens to put many locations out of business, and the most recent restrictions from the county disallowing outdoor in-person dining are setting them even further back.

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