The city’s Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration on Wednesday released a list of restaurants cited for violating the agency’s Phase Two reopening orders that went into effect on June 22. ABRA has inspected more than 150 establishments that serve alcohol, according to agency spokesperson Jared Powell.

At least 40 establishments have been cited for violating rules around reopening, most for insufficient table spacing (six feet apart), playing music louder than a conversational level, and offering after-hours service.

While most infractions—such as allowing noise or not keeping tables six feet apart—carry a verbal or written warning on first offense and fines for additional violations, per ABRA, others come with an immediate $1,000 fine.

Several of the restaurants on the list are based around the U Street corridor (including Ben’s Next Door, Empire Lounge, and Mama San/Harlot) and Adams Morgan (Grand Central, Heaven and Hell, Pitchers, and Johnny Pistolas, for example), with some exceptions.

Four restaurants were issued fines: District Soul Food on 8th Street SE and Red Lounge on 14th Street NW (both for after-hours service and not enforcing mask-wearing for patrons and employees), Lounge of Three on U Street NW (for not offering food service with alcohol sales, allowing patrons to order drinks at the bar, and offering service after 12 a.m.), and Marleny’s in Mount Pleasant (for not offering prepared food with alcohol).

At District Soul Food, owner David Rountree was given a verbal warning for loud music, and later fined $1000 for employees and patrons not wearing masks and for operating after 12 a.m. earlier this month.

“What they don’t understand with people being people, [is that] they move chairs around, scoot tables around, so it’s kind of hard to operate,” Rountree told WJLA.

Rountree told the outlet that he felt the punishment was unfair.

“As a Black-owned restaurant owner, I feel like we’re being singled out on a block where there are no other Black-owned operators,” he said. “There are other things going on, on this block, they could absolutely be fined for the same thing.” (“ABRA treats all licensees and complaints received equally,” Powell told WJLA.)

Powell wrote in a statement to DCist/WAMU that the administration has tried to educate restaurant owners about what activities are permitted and prohibited.

“ABRA investigators primarily issued verbal warnings to start and allowed the licensee to correct,” he wrote. “Investigators then monitor the establishment to ensure continued compliance.”

Earlier this month, Lounge of Three was fined $1,000 for not serving food, allowing patrons to order drinks at the bar, and operating after hours. In an ABRA report, investigator Mark Brashears wrote that when he investigated, owner Yeuwblay Melesse Bitew told him “that she had heard that [Alcohol Beverage Control] establishments were allowed to stay open until 1 a.m.”

Brashear informed her that she was required to close at midnight, per the report, and Bitew said she understood and agreed to close the lounge. Bitew did not respond to a request for comment.

Another infraction, at Kiss Tavern on T Street NW, was referred to the city’s Office of the Attorney General. According to an ABRA report, investigator Mark Ruiz observed the establishment “apparently serving liquor to patrons after operation hours” on July 6.

Ruiz writes in the report that he was denied entry when he visited around 2 a.m., and called for the Metropolitan Police Department to gain entry into Kiss Tavern. After MPD officers and Ruiz searched the establishment, the report states that eight individuals were hiding in a back room behind the bar service area. The owner of the tavern, Eyob Asbeha, told ABRA the individuals were family members celebrating a birthday party.

When ABRA asked for Kiss Tavern’s security footage of the evening, according to the report, inspectors found the camera had not been recording. That put Kiss Tavern in violation of its settlement agreement, the written agreement that ABC licensees make with their Advisory Neighborhood Commisssions. That prompted ABRA to refer the case to the D.C. Attorney General’s office.

Asbeha declined to comment on the record for this story.

Phase Two marks the first time since March that restaurants can serve patrons inside. (Phase One allowed outdoor seating only.) While restaurants can only operate at 50% indoor capacity, they can apply to serve at a greater density in Phase Three.

Jenny Gathright contributed reporting.