Adamson Barbecue in Etobicoke opens for indoor dining in defiance of COVID-19 measures

Adamson Barbecue in Etobicoke opened its doors for indoor dining Tuesday, in defiance of government-mandated COVID-19 measures that prohibit restaurants from doing so.

On Monday night, restaurant owner Adam Skelly posted a video on Instagram where he expressed frustration with the government’s lockdown orders and said Adamson Barbecue would be opening the next day for people to eat inside.

Restaurants are allowed to offer takeout, but can’t permit indoor dining as the province attempts to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The restaurant drew crowds of protesters and other members of the public — some doing takeout and others choosing to dine inside. Public health bylaw officers arrived, and there was a large police presence on-scene.

Toronto police said the crowds were too large for them to attempt to break up, and the doors remained open during the lunch hour.

Without any evidence, Skelly suggested on Instagram that the COVID-19 case count had been exaggerated, tests ineffective and non-essential businesses unnecessarily shut. He claimed “this thing” — he does not specify what exactly — “stinks, it reeks of corruption.”

“Enough is enough. We’re opening. For anybody who’s a fan of freedom and sovereignty, the right to choose what you wear, where to go, who to have over at your house, what businesses you can go to, I’d love to meet you tomorrow.”

Carleton Grant, who heads the city’s bylaw enforcement unit, told the Star’s Jennifer Pagliaro earlier on Tuesday morning that the restaurant’s plan to open was brought to his attention “from a number of internal sources.”

He said municipal licencing, public health and police officials planned to attend the restaurant Tuesday morning.

“Should this establishment or any other that is prohibited to open does so, appropriate enforcement action will be taken,” Grant said in an email.

Skelly posted a video on the popular Texas BBQ restaurant’s official Instagram on Monday to tell followers their newly-opened Etobicoke location would be opening for inside dining “against provincial orders” starting at 11 a.m.

“For those of you who have eyes to see why I’m doing this, thank you guys so much,” Skelly said.

“This is a risky move and you guys gave me the gas to do this.”

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“I can’t get angry at any business person right now,” Premier Doug Ford says about Adamson BBQ in Etobicoke, saying that everyone should be following the rules.