CHELSEA — A beloved neighborhood bodega on the corner of 20th Street and Eighth Avenue was shuttered for 10 days after a worker sold a beer to an undercover police officer who was a minor, its manager said.
8th Ave. 24 Hour Grocery reopened on Saturday a worker there said, much to the relief of neighbors who had grown concerned at the NYPD closure sign on the door with no explanation about why it was closed or when it would reopen.
And NYPD has closed this deli at 8th & 21st with no explanation. http://t.co/TfRzJ8lFIa @hh_chelseanyc @ChelseaNYC23 pic.twitter.com/E4AurgNFf3
— Jordan Lage (@JordanLage) August 13, 2015"I was worried about this place, [I thought] oh my God what happened?" said Billy Maldonado, 60, who dropped in for a coffee on Monday morning. Maldonado used to live on 18th Street until he moved to The Bronx three years back. "They're nice people."
Police came knocking along with State Liquor Authority inspectors about two weeks ago and forced the bodega to close, slapping them with a $7,500 fine, said its manager Badr Muzab, 31, who has worked at the bodega for 17 years.
"This month is going to be very hard," Muzab said. He still owes the state another fine, though he's not sure how much.
Muzab said that his cousin was on duty at the time of the illegal sale. It was during the holy month of Ramadan and his cousin had gone to break fast at about 8:30 p.m. leaving a less experienced cashier at the helm.
Muzab said that it was the second time this year that the bodega had been nabbed selling beer to an undercover investigator which is why they were forced to close and had to pay such a steep fine.
Muzab worried that the closure might have driven customers away who assume the business is closed for good or who think the bodega is mixed up in shady dealings.
"When they close the business, they make bad luck," he said. He worried customers might think, "those people, they're selling drugs."
Officers in the 13th Precinct deferred comment to police headquarters who did not respond immediately. The state liquor authority did not respond to immediate attempts for comment.
