Owner of Bar Petite in Huntington weighs in on liquor license suspension

Taped behind the front door of Bar Petite in Huntington are four sheets, end to end. They narrate a rocky tale: How on two successive Friday nights in late winter, state-appointed investigators found that the number of people inside the bar surpassed the occupancy allowed under COVID-era restrictions, in one case by a quotient of six. A few days after that, Bar Petite’s liquor license was suspended by the New York State Liquor Authority, a penalty that has befallen dozens of other Long Island restaurants during the last year.

"I’m sure some people walk by and go, ‘Good, he got what he deserved,’" said owner John Conzone, 50, of the violations listed in the window of the bar, which is known for cocktails, small plates and live music, and remains open sans alcohol. "But I wasn’t trying to be ‘that guy.’ It's simple. If I had followed protocol, I would’ve been out of business last March."

Bar Petite, on the northern edge of Huntington Village, lives up to its name: There are 15 seats inside, nine of them at the bar itself. Under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s executive order limiting bars and restaurants to 50% capacity — which was in effect until March 18 — Bar Petite was technically allowed seven-and-a-half people. Eight customers, if you round up — or possibly just six, said Conzone, because he was never clear if that number included restaurant staff. His impression was that it did.

Either way, SLA investigators visited Bar Petite on the evening of Friday, Feb. 26, "following complaints of overcrowding, lack of social distancing and employees without face masks," according to an SLA report. When they observed 18 people inside, one investigator told Conzone he would receive a citation in the mail, which Conzone said never arrived. In the interim, he kept the business open.

On the evening of March 5, SLA investigators visited again, finding 48 people on the premises — "six times the legal limit," read the report, which also noted two employees without face masks. Five days later, the SLA boards voted unanimously to suspend Bar Petite’s liquor license, with a maximum penalty of $10,000 per violation and possible permanent revocation.

"I don’t say I’m innocent. I absolutely did it, because I have a wife. I have children, I have a business, I have a house, and we had to do what we had to do to survive," said Conzone, who opened Bar Petite in June 2019 after decades as a bartender. "You cannot sustain a business with allowing six people inside. We have this unique situation with half occupancy. I get the safety aspect of it — I don’t want to disregard that, but we have to survive. We never tried to put people in danger, we never tried to make them uncomfortable, and we always checked with them about how they felt about capacity."

As of Feb. 21, the state had collected at least $368,000 in fines from 19 businesses in Nassau and Suffolk counties that had their liquor licenses suspended and then reinstated, such as Robke's of Northport and Spiro's in Rocky Point. Several more suspensions remain in effect. Statewide, fines have ranged from $5,000 to $50,000.

Conzone said he disagreed with the observation that there were 48 people in the bar on March 5, but pleaded no-contest. His initial indication from the state was that he would pay a fine of $10,000, but his attorney had informed him the fine is $25,000 for reinstatement. "I almost passed out," Conzone said. He is waiting for a hearing. "We’re not Rockefellers over here. The whole last year has been very rough."

Conzone said that when he and his wife, whom he prefers not to identify, purchased Bar Petite, "we made a deal with ourselves that we would do whatever it takes to make this place successful." Ten months after opening, COVID-19 sparked the executive order that suspended indoor dining. When indoor dining reopened last June, Conzone said the Town of Huntington's permission for expanded outdoor dining was a lifesaver. "We were doing fantastic — we were probably up in sales," he said.

That spike in business dissipated in the colder weather, said Conzone, and he and his wife used savings and credit cards to keep the business afloat. While takeout has helped sustain some restaurants, he chalked up Bar Petite’s appeal, in part, to in-person interaction. "It’s a small place, but it’s a sociable place, the kind of place you come for the experience."

A regular customer, Tara Giambrone, started a crowdfunding campaign for Bar Petite to help with the fine, and it had raised $12,150 as of March 23. The gesture and subsequent donations moved Conzone. "We have a massive group of people here, and this is their neighborhood restaurant," he said. He remained worried, though, that the longer the suspension goes on, the more customers he might lose. "People are creatures of habit. If we close for a while, they will find another place to go."

On March 21, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Suffolk County stood at 5.7%, with 612 new cases throughout the county. On March 19, indoor dining at most state restaurants and bars was expanded to 75 percent.