Board of Health and Health Director Jonathan Abreu say they were justified in serving the Venus de Milo restaurant and banquet facility the suspension orders that threatened to shutter its doors. 

“Myself and the entire Board of Health take our role in protecting the public very seriously and will continue to enforce corrective actions as needed," Abreu wrote to the Herald News in a June 4 email responding to the newspaper's interview Venus de Milo owner Monte Ferris Jr.

The two sides have been in a public debate about the health and food standards at the restaurant after the town issued a cease-and-desist order May 19 ordering the business to stop serving food immediately. That order was put on hold by a temporary restraining order from Bristol County Superior Court. The cease-and-desist was a follow up action by the board to a 30-day suspension of the Venus de Milo's food establishment license issued on May 14, and an earlier March 2026 suspension, neither of which closed the restaurant.

See more at heraldnews.com.