A D.C. coffee shop where a man was caught on video appearing to berate a delivery driver for not speaking English was ordered to shut down. City officials say investigations began before the video surfaced this week.
Viral video showed a man repeatedly yell “Learn English!” at CANNA Coffee on Florida Avenue NW. The video prompted Uber Eats to remove the business from the app.
D.C.’s Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) and D.C. Health said in a joint statement Thursday that they ordered CANNA to shut down. Both departments conducted inspections months before the video went viral.
“As a part of a multi-agency enforcement effort, DC Government has been investigating Canna Coffee and has ordered that the business cease operations,” the departments said.
DLCP issued notices of infraction on May 13 and Aug. 8, ordered CANNA on Sept. 11 to close and followed up on Sept. 18 – this past Wednesday. It wasn't immediately clear what the notices of infraction cited.
“We will continue to work with law enforcement and community partners to protect the health and safety of all DC residents,” the city departments said.
News4 visited CANNA on Thursday and it was unclear if the business was open or closed. A man who said he was the owner told a reporter it wasn’t possible to place an order.
‘You ridin’ on the roads? Learn English!’
Delivery driver Gregario Amundaria told News4 and Telemundo 44 he was picking up an order at CANNA when a man began swearing at him for not speaking English. He began recording.
“You ridin’ on the roads? Learn English!” the video shows a man saying.
Amundaria said he felt threatened and humiliated. He said he has worked as a delivery driver for seven months and sends money to Venezuela to support his 2-year-old daughter.
D.C. police said they’re investigating the incident as being potentially motivated by hate or bias. No one was charged.
When News4 went to CANNA on Wednesday to try to find the unidentified man in the video and speak with him, another man exited and questioned the intent. News4 then tried to speak with a man believed to be the man in the video, but he would not confirm his identity or say whether he was the person in the video.
News4 sends breaking news stories by email. Go here to sign up to get breaking news alerts in your inbox.
News4 was invited into the business but told not to record. An interview agreement could not be reached. News4 attempted to reach the business via phone call and text message to get a statement but did not hear back.
Uber Eats said Wednesday on Instagram, “We are disgusted by the behavior in this video. Hate has no place on our platform. We have removed this business from our app and are working to check in on this courier's well-being."
