After City Shuts Down La Crepe Et La Vie, Owner Calls Attention To Crippling Small Business Fines

After the city shut down La Crepe et La Vie (1715 Foster Avenue) at the end of January for operating with an expired food service establishment permit, the popular restaurant’s owner, Kostas Kormopoulos, said he has been devastated by the move – and he’s issuing some harsh criticism for the city Health Department over what he says are unfair and astronomical fines for tediously small violations that seem more about lining the city’s coffers than keeping the public safe.

“When I first started up, the inspectors immediately started coming and I couldn’t understand why,” said Kostas, who opened the creperie in the summer of 2013. “They started to give me fines, and now I have a lot of fines, more than $10,000. I always had an A or B health grade, but they would give me fines for ridiculous things.”

(While there is a ‘B’ health grade sign in the restaurant’s window, it just received an A in the most recent inspection, according to the Health Department.)

For example, Kostas said he was given a series of $400 fines for such violations as his refrigerator being a couple degrees warmer than what is mandated.

“This was in the summer and the refrigerator is being open and closed, open and closed – and they’re going to fine me $400 for two degrees?”

Being a small business owner, Kostas said he wasn’t able to pay the fines – nor did he feel like he should have to because he felt like the city was using the fines as a way to make money, instead of keep the public safe. Ultimately, the fines accumulated to a little more than $10,000 – and, without paying the fines, the city Department of Health will not renew a permit.

“La Crepe et La Vie was closed because, despite reminders to renew their permit, the owners were found operating with an expired food service establishment permit,” the city Health Department told us. “Once the permit is renewed and any outstanding fines are paid, they can re-open.”

The Health Department also stressed that they send reminders and an explanation that outstanding fines must be paid before a permit can be renewed, and that they provide time for the restaurant to come into compliance.

Now, facing thousands of dollars in fines, Kostas said that while he is determined to reopen, he’s not exactly sure when – or how – that will happen. A number of neighbors have been speaking to him in recent days about a possible neighborhood-driven fundraising campaign to help with the fines, and Kostas said he’s always open to neighbors donating any funds to help him reopen if they’d so like.

“It’s so unreasonable,” Kostas said. “How can anyone pay $400 because they find a fly? Because of a couple degrees difference for the refrigerator? I don’t know what to do; it’s very disheartening.”

Numerous neighbors have contacted us about the closing as well, with all of them stressing how much they want La Crepe et La Vie to remain on Foster Avenue.

“It is wonderful to have a creperie in the neighborhood, and it would be such a loss to all of us if it closed,” neighbor Mo Gindi wrote to us.

“People have told me, ‘No, we’re not going to let you go,'” Kostas said. “I will figure out what I can do. People feel so comfortable here. I have to reopen. Everyone who comes in – the kids, everyone – I miss them.”

“This freaking government,” Kostas continued. “They have to find something to punish you. Maybe they have quotas? Other business owners tell me they have the same thing, all these fines. Mamma Lucia, she said, ‘I’m so disgusted with the fees, the fines, the everything.’ You can only take so much.”

The city’s restaurant grading system has long come under fire, with restaurateurs for years echoing much of what Kostas told us: crippling fines are constantly doled out for violations that seem more about making big bucks for the city instead of penalizing sites for actual health problems.

These kinds of complaints seem to be registering with elected officials, and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito outlined in her State of the City address Tuesday a plan to reduce small business fines, saying that “minor infractions that do not concert publish health or safety may warrant a warning or cure period for a first violation.”

As Crain’s reported, small business owners throughout the five boroughs are not happy with continued small business fines, despite Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration’s creation of a new initiative this past summer that aims to help businesses avoid penalties and fines.

According to Crain’s, revenues from fines jumped a dramatic 72 percent during Bloomberg’s tenure, going from $467 million in 2002 to $799 million in 2013. The de Blasio administration has projected that fine revenues will be around $807.5 million this year.

“It sucks, man,” Kostas said. “It’s ridiculous. People are just trying to do business, and we can’t do that.”

Kostas said he welcomes any advice or help on the matter. If you’d like to get in touch with him, you can email him at kostasbrooklyn97@gmail.com or call him at 347-267-8969.

And, if you’re a small business owner, we’d love to hear what your experiences with fines have been. You can let us know in the comments below or email us at editor@ditmasparkcorner.com.