DC Health ordered cafe to be closed before owner was caught on video telling driver to ‘learn English’
Canna Cafe in Northwest was ordered to shut down by D.C. Health just days before its owner was caught on camera berating a delivery driver who didn’t speak English.
In a joint statement released on Thursday, D.C.’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) and D.C. Health said a “notice of infraction” had been issued to the Florida Avenue restaurant on May 13, and another on Aug. 8.
D.C. Health had ordered the restaurant to cease operations as of Wednesday, Sept. 11, and followed up on Sept. 18, only to see the restaurant was still in business.
Earlier this week, video of the restaurant owner telling a delivery driver from Venezuela to “learn English” emerged.
On Monday morning, Uber Eats delivery driver Gregorio José Amundarain Lávate said he went to Canna Coffee on Florida Avenue to pick up an order.
“He told me that the order was ready. When I went to go look for the order, he told me I need to learn English. And I told him I don’t speak English. That’s when he became upset,” said Amundarain Lávate, through a translator.
D.C. police are currently investigating owner Greg Harris for Monday’s possible hate crime and a case of simple assault.
The DLCP and D.C. Health said their inspections happened before the recent viral video.
“DLCP has issued two Notices of Infraction (NOIs) to Canna Coffee —one on May 13, 2024, and another on August 8, 2024. DC Health has additionally ordered the closure of the business as of September 11th, with a follow-up on September 18th,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
Harris said in a post on social media on Thursday, “They thought that they were gonna come here and serve me some sort of lawsuit. … I’m raising my flag, I will rise up from all this hate.”