Carrboro pizza restaurant closing after lawsuit against cigar bar
Coronato Pizza will continue take-out service until the Oct. 15 closing date.
Posted — UpdatedThe restaurant had tried serving customers through take-out orders only before announcing the Oct. 15 closure.
In September, Coronato Pizza posted the news on Instagram, writing:
"Though our efforts to mitigate the challenge and transition to a take-out only service model were in good faith, it was not meant to be a sustainable solution. Instead, we were hoping for a temporary fix until the challenging circumstances could be resolved. We have since exhausted ourselves, and our resources, while waiting for a solution that never came."
Coronato Pizza will continue take-out service until the closing date.
Diggs Restaurant Group, LLC, which operates Coronato Pizza, filed a lawsuit in April in superior court in Orange County against Oasis Cigar Club, Inc., which operates Oasis Cigar Lounge next door on Two Hills Drive. The restaurant group is also suing the building owner Woodhill NC, LLC.
Chef Teddy Diggs opened Coronato Pizza in 2019 but closed the dining room on Feb. 26 of this year due to the "ongoing effects of the cigar smoke" from the adjacent Oasis Cigar Lounge.
The lawsuit alleges that the issue started when Oasis Cigar Lounge opened in August 2022 and "cigar smoke began migrating" from the bar to the restaurant.
In the lawsuit, Diggs said he immediately reached out to the owners of Oasis Cigar Lounge and the property owner to notify them that the "cigar smoke and odor had entered the Coronato premises" causing himself, his wife, staff and customers to suffer from "headaches, sinus and eye irritation."
The issues continued, according to the lawsuit, causing the restaurant to close early on Aug. 5 and 6 that year.
Diggs, Oasis and a Woodhill representative met in person to discuss the issues on Sept. 14, 2022, which resulted in Woodhill representative Gary Hill returning to Coronato that evening to check on the smoke himself, according to the lawsuit.
"Mr. Hill acknowledged that he could smell the cigar smoke, but that it did not bother him that badly," the lawsuit says, noting that Hill offered to purchase two air purifiers to help mitigate the smoke. The lawsuit alleges that those air purifiers did not help and were later moved to the Oasis property.
Diggs says he continued to report the issue throughout the fall and winter of 2022. On Dec. 9, 2022, Diggs said he was emailed by Woodhill's representative stating that the building owner had taken "all action that (they) believed it was required to ensure the safety of (Coronato's) air quality."
Diggs alleges that the cigar smoke has continued to migrate to the restaurant causing "health complications, extreme discomfort and other complications" for himself, customers and staff.
According to the lawsuit, Diggs reached out to public health officials, but also hired a private company, Repace Associates, to do a air quality test of the restaurant for 16 days in January 2023.
The testing found that "nicotine was detected at more than 1,000 times the minimum limit," which indicates toxic secondhand smoke, according to the lawsuit. The report found that "there was a significant leak of cigar smoke" into Coronato.
The report also found that the air pollution created by Oasis into the Coronato space exposed Diggs, his staff and patrons to "significantly unhealthy air quality from secondhand smoke that poses both an acute and chronic hazard to their physical and mental health."
While increased ventilation or unit-sealing could reduce the smoke, it would not eliminate the secondhand smoke inhalation, the report said.
"Cigar smoking produces a great deal of fine particle pollution, a great deal of carbon monoxide, and a whole host of other toxic chemicals," James Repace, president of Repace Associates, told WRAL on Monday. "Particularly for non-smokers who are sensitive to tobacco smoke, that can cause very debilitating injuries.
Repace said nicotine levels measured at Coronato were "comparable to what has been measured in the homes of smokers."
As a secondhand smoke consultant, Repace said he has "measured the nicotine levels in about 90 cases so far, and Coronato Pizza is right at the top."
"Some of my clients have gone to the hospital because of infiltrating secondhand smoke in much lower levels than are present in my estimation in Coronato Pizza," Repace said.
The lawsuit alleges that Woodhill violated Diggs' lease by not proving a premises free of cigar smoke which is a hazardous material. The breach of contract has caused damages in excess of $25,000. The lawsuit also alleges Woodhill was negligent.
In a statement, Woodhill said it was continuing to work with Coronato toward a resolution. It said:
Diggs is suing Oasis for failing to prevent the cigar smoke from migrating to the Coronato property which has caused health and complications and environmental contamination.
Oasis owners shared this statement with WRAL News:
North Carolina laws state that all cigar bars opened after July 1, 2009, that allow smoking must operate in freestanding structures. The law does not apply to private clubs.
Oasis Cigar Lounge is able to allow smoking inside despite not being inside a freestanding structure because it is a considered a private club. The club is operated by the nonprofit Oasis Cigar Club, Inc., according to the state secretary of state's office. Private clubs must be operated by a nonprofit entity in order to quality for this exemption.
Diggs released a statement Monday.
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