Another Washington restaurant hit with restraining order over COVID indoor dining ban
Another restaurant in Washington has been hit with a temporary restraining order for violating COVID-19 restrictions by offering indoor dine-in services, according to Cowlitz County Superior Court documents.
The Department of Labor and Industries issued Stuffy’s II, a restaurant in Longview, an order of immediate restraint on Dec. 22 that demanded it stop offering indoor dining, documents state. As of Dec. 28, Stuffy’s had racked up $126,000 in fines, Dina Lorraine, a spokesperson for the department, told McClatchy News in an email.
After receiving the department’s order, “Stuffy’s continued to engage in the business activity of indoor dine-in service,” according to documents. Now the authority to bring the restaurant into compliance lies with the court.
Violating the TRO “is a gross misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not more than [$10,000] or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both,” the documents state. “Violation of this order may also subject the violation to Contempt of Court.”
A hearing for Stuffy’s II will take place on Jan. 7 at 1:30 p.m. in a Zoom call, according to the documents. The restaurant posted on its Facebook page that a “peaceful rally” was organized to take place ahead of the hearing.
Stuffy’s cancels liquor license
Earlier in December, Stuffy’s posted that the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board visited the establishment and warned that allowing indoor dining could result in a fine or suspension of its liquor license, “which would result in us never getting one in the future,” the post says.
“So we decided to cancel our liquor license effective tomorrow, so that we can reapply in the future,” according to the post from Dec. 11.
The LCB did not immediately return a request for comment.
Washington prohibits indoor dining
Gov. Jay Inslee prohibited restaurants from offering indoor dining in a guidance that went into effect on Nov. 18, McClatchy News previously reported.
The guidance, which will remain in place until Jan. 11, prohibits people who don’t live together from having social gatherings indoors unless “they quarantine for 14 days prior to the social gathering or quarantine for seven days prior … and received a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 48-hours prior to the gathering,” according to the governor’s website.
Restaurants, however, can’t operate indoor dining services under those terms, the guidance says, and there are strict rules to follow if they offer outdoor dining.
WA restaurants violate COVID-19 orders
Stuffy’s is not the first restaurant in Washington to be issued a restraining order for offering indoor dining, McClatchy has previously reported. The Farm Boy Drive-In in south Thurston County and Spiffy’s in Chehalis have both been issued restraining orders for dine-in service.
The Washington Department of Health reports that “food service/restaurant” businesses top the list for COVID-19 outbreaks outside of healthcare settings, with 221 outbreaks reported during the course of the pandemic as of Dec. 26.
Washington state has reported 248,580 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3,541 deaths as of Tuesday, according to the Department of Health.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Another Washington restaurant hit with restraining order over COVID indoor dining ban."