Owner of Etobicoke restaurant that defied COVID-19 restrictions given $187K bill for City response

The owner of an Etobicoke restaurant which opened in November despite Toronto being in a COVID-19 lockdown has been given a bill of more than $187,000 for the City’s response.

A social media account for Adamson Barbecue, located on Queen Elizabeth Boulevard near Royal York Road and The Queensway, posted a photo of the invoice.

“This is the invoice Toronto sent me for the police they hired to keep everyone safe from my brisket,” the post read.

In a statement sent to Global News, a spokesperson for the City of Toronto confirmed that Adam Skelly had been given the bill.

“There were costs associated with closing — and keeping closed — his Etobicoke location under the MOH’s orders, including policing, boarding up the premises, locksmith, and so on,” Brad Ross said in an email.

In November, while Toronto was in the grey-lockdown stage of Ontario’s coronavirus response framework — which prohibits restaurants from serving in-person dining — Adamson Barbeque reopened indoor dining and subsequently opened again despite a closure order.

Skelly was eventually arrested.

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The invoice lists over $165,000 for policing costs, $8,000 for Toronto Public Health costs, and just over $4,500 for municipal licensing and standards.

A GoFundMe previously set up for Skelly raised nearly $338,000.

Skelly has said that he intends to challenge the constitutionality of coronavirus restrictions in court.

5:23 Adamson BBQ owner defies lockdown measures – what happens next?