The State Liquor Authority has opened an investigation into a popular Bronx restaurant and bar owned by a brother of the New York City police commissioner following THE CITY’s reporting on fire safety and building code violations there.
According to SLA’s records, Con Sofrito is owned by Richard Caban, brother of NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, who is frequently seen there. The restaurant has long been patronized by top cops and politicians, including Mayor Eric Adams, who celebrated his birthday there in September.
An investigation published last week by THE CITY disclosed multiple code violations in a 500-square-foot party shed Con Sofrito erected in its parking lot adjacent to the restaurant. In a lawsuit filed to evict the eatery, the landlord of the property has called the shed “an imminent threat to both petitioner and the public.”
The Department Buildings issued a violation in June 2022 charging that the plywood shed was built without a permit. The owner has yet to provide the DOB with documentation that the facility was built up to code, so the violation remains open.
In August 2022, FDNY fire safety inspectors issued 17 violations there, including failure to install a required fire suppression system in the shed and failure to “maintain fire rated construction in the restaurant.”
Then in October of last year the FDNY returned and issued one more violation specifically related to the shed, charging the restaurant with failure to obtain a certificate of operation for a public assembly space accommodating 161 people.
On Tuesday officials at the SLA, which licenses drinking establishments, confirmed that in response to THE CITY’s report, the agency will open a case based on the code and safety violations at the restaurant.
In SLA documents, Richard Caban — a former NYPD lieutenant — claims to be 100% owner of the restaurant with no others benefiting financially from its operations. Yet on his LinkedIn page, Jimmy Rodriguez, former owner of the legendary Jimmy’s Bronx Cafe, calls himself Con Sofrito’s “creator/manager.” Rodriguez also maintains a very active Instagram feed featuring photos of himself with top New York players — including Commissioner Caban and Mayor Adams — under the handle Jimmys_consofrito.
In the mid-1990s Major League Baseball banned players from Jimmy’s Bronx Cafe after allegations that the popular spot was patronized by drug dealers. The restaurant closed in 2004.
On Tuesday Louis Schiro, a lawyer representing 1315 Restaurant Group LLC, the entity controlled by Richard Caban that runs the restaurant, did not return THE CITY’s calls seeking comment. Richard Caban also did not return THE CITY’s calls Tuesday.