Jersey’s Downtown Closing Raises Questions

By now you may have heard that Jerseys is closing its downtown Cedar Rapids location. The restaurant and bar announced the closing on their Facebook page last week.

But the reason why it’s closing is subject to debate.

"Its been a roller coaster of ups and downs" the Facebook post read, adding that Jerseys Downtown could possibly reopen "when conditions improve."

The owner of Jerseys told KCRG 9 he's “shutting the location down over safety concerns for his staff following heightened tensions between those employees and staff at neighboring restaurant Harold's Chicken.”

According to KCRG 9 Jersey’s owner declined to elaborate but the owner of Harold's Chicken told the TV station the closure "has nothing to do" with his business, instead alleging the closure was due to health code violations.

A KCRG 9 investigation discovered food inspectors at Jerseys reported eight violations at the 1st Street NE location during a visit in 2015.

Jersey’s owner said food safety violations had nothing to do with the closure. He said inspectors visited Friday and gave the downtown location a clean bill of health.

[source: KCRG TV 9]