By Courtney Dentch
A typographical error on a longstanding city Department of Health permit shut the doors for several hours at Carmichael’s Diner in Jamaica Friday night.
Leroy Carmichael, owner of the restaurant at 117-08 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., was served a temporary order to close Friday after a Health Department worker noticed the address on an operating certificate was incorrect, said Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), who intervened to have the diner reopened.
The permit listed the address as 117-01 Guy R. Brewer Blvd., when it should have read 117-08, Comrie said. The Health Department worker, there for a routine inspection, issued a violation and the order to close, he said.
“I never really took a close look at the certificate when it arrived,” Carmichael said. “It is just one of those things that you take for granted when you have been in business for 33 years.”
Carmichael’s was established in 1971 and has become a favorite spot in the neighborhood as well as for the area’s political leaders.
Comrie contacted the Health Department and explained the situation, and the department told Carmichael he would be permitted to reopen once the billing address had been confirmed.
“Carmichael’s is not only a great family restaurant,” Comrie said, “but it also serves as a benchmark for entrepreneurs in our community.”
