Kingston Fire and Rescue issued an immediate threat to life notice to the One Eyed Jack Restaurant and Bar on Weller Avenue after they say sleeping quarters were found in its basement earlier this month.
In a statement to this newspaper Monday morning, Kingston Fire and Rescue explained that on April 5 they received a complaint that people were sleeping in the basement of the establishment located near Division Street in the north end.
“Fire inspectors immediately completed a followup and observed sleeping quarters/an apartment in the basement with three individuals sleeping in beds at the time of inspection,” the fire department said.
Upon finding the alleged apartment, which Kingston Fire and Rescue say included beds, a living room and shower facilities, fire inspectors immediately contacted Kingston Police, Kingston Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health, as well as the City of Kingston’s Building Department.
“Persons sleeping in the basement of the restaurant presents a variety of fire and life safety hazards that were not allowed for in the building’s original design,” Kingston Fire and Rescue said. “Action was taken under Section 15 of the Fire Protection and Prevention Act (Immediate Threat to Life) to remove persons sleeping in the basement and all sleeping accommodation.”
Chief Fire Prevention Officer Ted Posadowski said they will be conducting a followup inspection with the owner this week. Kingston Fire and Rescue has not charged the restaurant with any provincial offences.
Part owner and district manager of the One Eyed Jack Restaurant and Bar, Nish Mahendrarajah, denied anyone had been sleeping in the basement when he spoke with the Whig-Standard last Friday. He said the authorities requested some sections of the establishment be changed and they have complied.
Kingston Police Const. Anthony Colangeli said in an email to the Whig-Standard that officers went to the restaurant on April 5 at the request of Kingston Fire and Rescue.
“It was determined by (Kingston Police) officers who attended that no criminal offences were occurring or had occurred,” Colangeli said.
“We do not have an active file or investigation into this matter. If through another agency’s investigation it is determined or believed that a criminal offence is occurring, we would be called again, but as of right now, we are not investigating anything there.”
Kingston Police and Kingston Fire and Rescue have both stated that the Canada Border Services Agency was involved in an investigation at One Eyed Jacks.
On Thursday, acting on a tip and not knowing the exact date authorities visited the restaurant, the Whig-Standard reached out to the border agency about a search at the establishment last month and requested an interview with investigators about it.
On Friday, Rebecca Purdy, senior spokesperson for the agency, replied that it “was not involved in the execution of a search warrant at the One Eyed Jack Restaurant and Bar in Kingston, Ont., last month.”
She did not elaborate and did not address the request for an interview.
While local authorities inspected the restaurant this month, Kingston Police said they were told by the border agency on April 5 that the individuals in the “apartment” had entered the country legally.
Kingston Fire and Rescue said they returned to One Eyed Jack on Thursday at the request of Kingston Police and the border agency.
Initially, the fire inspectors thought their counterparts were concerned about the beds in the basement, which had been removed and not returned since their April 5 visit, Posadowski explained. The team clarified and learned the concerns were about the locking mechanisms on the door to the basement, which Posadowski confirmed they had no concerns with.
The Whig-Standard reached out the border agency again Monday, this time asking broadly what its involvement with the restaurant has been. Purdy confirmed that evening that CBSA officers were at the restaurant last Thursday for an immigration compliance check.
“There is no additional information available,” Purdy said.
Kingston’s One Eyed Jack Restaurant and Bar opened in September 2023 to much anticipation as the public saw portions of the outside of the building transformed. It’s in the former location of an East Side Mario’s franchise, which closed in December 2022 after almost three decades of operation.
The One Eyed Jack parking lot is regularly full of customer vehicles. Kingston Transit once even had to post on social media instructing drivers not to park on First Canada Avenue next to the restaurant as vehicles were blocking their route.
Mahendrarajahn said Friday they’ve worked to stay involved in their community, including sponsoring local sports teams, supporting school fundraisers, and recently raised $1,000 for Autism Ontario.
“We’re focused on really being part of the community and providing a good product for our guests,” Mahendrarajahn said.
When speaking with the Whig, Mahendrarajahn initially wouldn’t go into detail about why authorities were seen at his establishment, only that there had been a complaint. He suggested it may have come from a disgruntled employee or rumours that had been posted on Reddit and other social media sites.
He said the matter had been dealt with and that the restaurant continues to operate, aiming to provide the best service to customers.
When asked directly to confirm if there had been people sleeping in the basement of the establishment, Mahendrarajah said he wasn’t there all the time, but he denied the allegation. He explained that the basement is used for storage. He added the restaurant does have a property in Odessa where those who come in and out of town can stay as needed.
He wasn’t at the restaurant when fire inspectors visited in early April but was told by the managers that they had to close off certain sections of the basement
“We followed whatever the authorities wanted in terms of the fire department,” Mahendrarajah said. “From my understanding, there’s a rest area with couches, and they wanted that to be moved, and we did what they asked. …
“We have no one living there.”
He noted that when Kingston Fire and Rescue visited on Thursday, the building passed inspection. He said Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health also attended and the restaurant passed its inspections, too. He had no issue if either needed to follow up and visit the establishment again.
“There were no major complaints and things are running smoothly,” Mahendrarajah said.
Public health said it was unavailable for an interview in regards to its involvement with One Eyed Jack.
The health agency has inspected the restaurant at least three times since September 2023. The results of the past three are posted online. A statement provided by public health, and attributed to environmental health program manager, Sarah Ryding, states the most recent, which was labelled online as a routine inspection last Thursday, was prompted by Kingston Fire and Rescue’s notification on April 5.
“At the time, a preliminary risk assessment was conducted based on the information provided by Kingston Fire and Rescue,” reads the statement. “KFL&A Public Health is responsible for enforcement of the Food Premises Regulation in this scenario, which outlines that rooms where food is prepared cannot be used for sleeping purposes.”
The most recent report states that during the visit, inspectors observed one non-critical violation for failing “to protect food from contamination or adulteration” and one critical violation for displaying “potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C.”
The report says a re-inspection is not required. Public health said the violations were corrected during the inspection.
Mahendrarajah said that on Thursday, authorities questioned individuals.
“Everyone was questioned,” Mahendrarajahn said. “All my staff, from front to back were ID’ed, which I guess is normal for border services. Even myself.”
Mahendrarajahn understood the authorities were just doing their job when they came to the restaurant and the business was fully co-operating, “to make things run smoothly.”
He did not respond to the Whig-Standard’s request for further comment on Monday.