Fraunces Tavern Management Fires Back After DOH Temporarily Shutters It For 'Critical Health Hazards'

Fraunces Tavern, one of the oldest (if not the oldest) buildings in Manhattan, has been temporarily closed by the Department of Health after inspectors found several "critical health hazards" during an inspection earlier this week. According to a DOH spokesperson, the tavern had a "severe pest infestation (rats, roaches and flies), food out of temperature and the presence of sewage water in a food preparation area, among other violations."

Despite these findings, both the owner and manager of the historic financial district bar claim that the shuttering was caused by "unforeseen structural issues." A manager told Gothamist that the issues have been corrected, and echoed owner Eddie Traverse's recent comments that the health department should take the building's long history—it opened in 1768!—into consideration when conducting their inspections.

"We're a landmarked building that's almost 300 years old," said Briana McHugh, an events manager at the tavern. "There's going to be cracks in the walls, water coming in, and there's only so much the landlord can do to fix these issues." McHugh also noted the high levels of rain that New York has endured in recent months. In 2015, the tavern was awarded $587,550 in federal funding to help repair severe water damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

The Department of Health, meanwhile, maintains that all restaurants should be held to the same standard, regardless of how old they are. "Restaurants are closed by the Health Department as a temporary emergency measure when there is a critical health hazard that cannot be corrected at the time of the inspection," the spokesperson said. She did not respond to a question about whether or not the tavern had corrected its issues or requested a reopening inspection.

A listing on the DOH's website shows that the Fraunces Tavern received 85 points during Monday's inspection. Restaurants that earn more than 28 points receive a "C" rating from the city. In a November 2016 inspection, the most recent one before this week's, the tavern received only 10 points—enough for an "A."

According to McHugh, some of these new violations cited by the health department are beyond the control of the tavern. "We're under pressure to fix these issues but some of them are unfixable," she said. "So we do hope that they start giving some more leniency or different guidelines for these historic landmarked buildings."