Jesse Gordon, a 33-year-old Englewood resident, had been giving away free sorbet from his home for months. He would serve unique flavors like blueberry-ube and strawberry balsamic to crowds of 50-plus people every Saturday. However, his operation came to an end when he received a notice of violation from Arapahoe County Public Health.

The Violation

The notice accused Gordon of “unlawfully operating a retail food establishment from a private home.” The county cited Colorado Revised Statute §§ 25-4-1606 and 25-4-1610(1)(b) as the reason for the shutdown. Gordon had been operating his sorbet giveaway, which he called “Sorbet and Destroy,” without a valid license.

Gordon started the operation last summer and took a break during the winter. He had just reopened for “season two” in March and had hosted three pop-ups when he got the notice. He created an Instagram account for Sorbet and Destroy, where he posted updates and announced upcoming flavors.

Community Reaction

Englewood Councilmember Rick Somerson, who was a regular at Gordon’s sorbet giveaways, expressed surprise at the shutdown. “Here is an individual trying to provide free sorbet, so a cease and desist feels extreme in terms of how it was delivered,” Somerson said.

Dylan Garrison, an environmental health manager at Arapahoe County Public Health, explained that even if the sorbet was free, it still couldn’t be served without a valid license. Garrison said it’s “rare” to send cease-and-desist orders to food vendors, and that the public health department relies on people submitting complaints to shut down unlawful food vendors.

Gordon suspects that a licensed vendor may have reported him to the county. He hopes to set up a legitimate retail space in the future, possibly at York Street Yards, which a friend is opening in November.

Original reporting: Denverite — read the source article.