Dewey orders Jimmy’s Grille to close its doors

Less than a month after it opened, Jimmy’s Grille has been ordered to lock its doors. Town Manager Gordon Elliott said the barbeque restaurant’s failure to comply with its original site plan forced the town to revoke its certificate of occupancy Sunday, June 21.

Elliott granted a temporary certificate of occupancy so the restaurant could run a Memorial Day fundraiser. Jimmy’s Grille still had to ask the town for a certificate of compliance and abide by the conditions of its certificate of occupancy, enforcing standing consumption areas and installing garage doors on the pavilion-style restaurant.

While the restaurant ran afoul of alcohol consumption rules early on, Elliott said weekend visits by town officials revealed guests with alcohol seated at the bar and not drifting through the restaurant. But on June 21, the windows remained covered in plastic instead of the planned garage doors.

If Jimmy’s opened as planned at 3 p.m., Thursday, June 25, Elliott said the town would apply a series of fines recommended by town attorney Glenn Mandalas: Charges for lacking a certificate of occupancy and noncompliance, each between $100 and $500, would be filed against Alex Pires, Highway One principal owner, and Jimmy’s management.

For each day it remains open, Jimmy’s Grille could accrue $4,000 in fines.

“What we’re currently doing is fining them every time,” said Elliott.

Installing garage doors would require a sprinkler system, which would cost the restaurant up to $60,000, said Elliott.

“But that’s the deal they made with the town,” he said.

A public hearing is scheduled for the Friday, July 10 town council meeting. Dale Cooke, former town commissioner, said he hasn’t been following Jimmy’s Grille too closely; however, he said, rules are rules. “If they don’t meet the standards, they shouldn’t be open,” he said.

Dewey resident Vivian Barry said the town is at fault for extending its trust to Highway One.

“I think the town should have known that Jimmy’s Grille was going to be a bar. The design of it should have told them,” she said.

She said Pires was motivated purely by profit.

“His colors haven’t changed,” she said. “He’s in it for the money. And it isn’t in food – it’s in booze.”

Pires was unavailable for comment. Jimmy’s Manager Pete McMahon said the restaurant opened as planned.