The D.C. coffee shop that made headlines earlier in the week when video of the owner's racist rant shouted at an Uber driver went viral was ordered to shut down by the health department days before the altercation occurred.
On Monday, the owner of Canna Coffee, Greg Harris, was recorded aggressively berating a delivery driver, swearing and mocking the driver between shouting, "Learn English." Uber promptly removed Canna Coffee from its app, and D.C. police are investigating the incident as a potential hate crime and simple assault.
National attention has brought Canna Coffee's pre-existing issues to light.
On Thursday, D.C.'s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) and D.C. Health issued a statement that the restaurant had received a "notice of infraction" on May 13, and again on Aug. 8. The statement noted the infractions were unrelated to the viral incident.
According to a Fox 5 investigation, Canna Coffee was formerly known as "Mary Jay's Exotic" and was accused of illegally manufacturing, growing, and selling marijuana.
D.C. Health had ordered the restaurant to close by Sept. 11. The organization followed up on Sept. 18 and discovered the business failed to comply.
In a social media post Thursday, Harris wrote, "They thought that they were gonna come here and serve me some sort of lawsuit," wtop News reported. "I'm raising my flag, I will rise up from all this hate."
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