Toilet Law Cuts Seats at Local Restaurants

If Roma Pizza on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope is your go-to spot for a slice, you better get used to eating in a standing position. According to The Brooklyn Paper, Roma has a bathroom in their kitchen and the folks that work there are always glad to lift the hinged section of the counter for those who need to use the facilities, but a kitchen bathroom isn’t legal for restaurants with more than 19 seats. To avoid future fines (and to avoid the cost of installing a new bathroom), they ripped out half their seats — they now only have 16. Eleven Brooklyn restaurants have gotten the same too-many-seats summons since July, including Soul Spot on Atlantic Avenue…

I had 23 seats and the guy gives me a ticket for $400! Soul Spot owner John Ceesay said. The Health inspector has been coming in here twice a year for three years — and all of a sudden, he gives me a ticket. Yes, my bathroom is in the kitchen, but I always let people use it. Granted, the Soul Spot (which is among our favorite take-out joints) doesn’t have much atmosphere anyway, but at least pizza is fold-able — fried chicken and collards are a lot harder to eat while standing up.
Hold the Tables! [Brooklyn Papers]