VIDEO: Patrons pack South End restaurant without social distancing, masks

CHARLOTTE — Several videos were posted on social media over the weekend at Nikko Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar in South End that showed a large crowd with very little social distancing and few masks.

“When we drove by this weekend, it was so full,” said Pamela Small, a Charlotte resident. “I would never go in there. It looked like every single table in the restaurant was full.”

[Health department issues order banning church’s in-person events after COVID-19 outbreak]

A Nikko patron told Channel 9 he has confidence in the restaurant’s management to keep him safe.

“If there were any reason to feel unsafe to go in there or any reason not to, I would definitely stay clear of that area, but I’ll still continue to go there,” said Jason Maxwell, a customer.

Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris said the videos were alarming.

“The people you are safest with are the people you live with,” Harris said. “We know that people are going to gather. We just need them to do it safely.”

Nikko issued the following statement to Channel 9:

“As a management team, we do our best to stop situations that would otherwise be considered problematic. However, this pandemic has also left us short-staffed, which led to situations within the restaurant that weren’t addressed immediately.”

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Charlotte-Mecklenburg police responded to the restaurant off South Boulevard over the weekend. It is unclear if any citations were issued.

In at least one of those videos, someone claimed they saw a Carolina Panthers player at the crowded restaurant. Practice squad cornerback Josh Hawkins was one of two players cut from the team on Monday. Head coach Matt Rhule did not say if Hawkins was cut because of the video.

On Tuesday, Channel 9 learned the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office was issuing a warning letter from the Department of Health and Human Services to the restaurant.

Medical experts find these types of gatherings disturbing, including a convocation at the United House of Prayer, where at least 143 positive COVID-19 cases and five deaths have been linked to the event.

Health departments in Iredell, Gaston and Cabarrus counties have been contacted about attendees who brought the virus home with them from the event in Mecklenburg County.

Contact tracing attempts are being conducted.

“But it’s difficult because spread happens fast,” said Marcella Beam, with the Cabarrus County Health Department. “The information we gather and the information other health departments gather is only as good as what the public will let us know.”

Other health departments have been contacted as a result of the church gathering, including in California, Washington, D.C., Georgia, New Jersey, New York and South Carolina.

Health department issues order banning church’s in-person events after COVID-19 outbreak

Cox Media Group