Restaurants hit with $780,000 in fines over COVID rules, Washington officials say

The decision by two Washington restaurants to defy COVID-19 restrictions is getting expensive.

They have racked up nearly $780,000 in fines — and that amount grows every day they continue to offer indoor dining, according to the Department of Labor and Industries.

Both restaurants chose to open for indoor dining despite Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 order, which went into effect Nov. 18, prohibiting the practice, McClatchy News previously reported.

Spiffy’s, in Lewis County, started offering indoor seating in early December, which then inspired the Farm Boy Drive In in Thurston County to do so.

Since then, it has become a contentious legal battle between the state and these businesses.

Farm Boy Drive In

The fines Farm Boy has accrued are two-fold:

• The Department of Labor and Industries has fined the restaurant a total of $337,365 for violations from Dec. 22 through Jan. 11.

• After being held in contempt by a Thurston County judge Farm Boy was fined $42,000, from Dec. 18 through Jan. 7.

Farm Boy was held in contempt after violating a temporary restraining order from Judge Christopher Lanese. The court issued the TRO after the restaurant refused to comply with the department of labor’s orders to stop offering indoor dining.

The contempt charge resulted in fines of $2,000 for every day the restaurant offers indoor dining.

In court Tuesday, the judge granted a motion from the department of labor requesting a preliminary injunction, which “essentially keeps in place the requirements of the temporary restraining order” that requires the restaurant to come into compliance with the Inslee’s COVID-19 proclamations, Dina Lorraine, a spokesperson for the department told McClatchy News in an email.

The court also granted the department’s motion for a second order of contempt, which means if Farm Boy continues to offer indoor dining, the $2,000 per-day fines will continue, Lorraine said.

A Farm Boy spokesperson said in a Facebook Live video that the business doesn’t “have the option” to stop offering indoor dining, saying “that’s not feasible for us.”

Judge Lanese also denied Farm Boy’s motion to dismiss the case and all of the penalties. Farm Boy’s attorney argued that the governor’s order is unconstitutional.

The Farm Boy spokesperson said the business is “looking for other options for [an] appeal attorney.”

“We are kind of lost on what we need to do, honestly,” the spokesperson said.

Spiffy’s

All of the fines against Spiffy’s have come from the Department of Labor and Industries:

• Spiffy’s was fined $202,419 for indoor-dining violations starting on Dec. 7.
• An additional $198,000 in fines were levied against Spiffy’s from Dec. 22 through Jan. 3.

Judge Lanese had issued a temporary restraining order Spiffy’s with a TRO in early January, which the restaurant complied with, according to Lorraine.

In court Tuesday, the judge denied the department of labor’s request for a preliminary injunction “because the evidence is that Spiffy’s has been closed and [does] not intend to reopen in violation of the COVID-19 proclamations … the [d]epartment can initiate further proceedings if Spiffy’s acts contrary to the proclamations in the future,” according to Lorraine.

This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 12:58 PM with the headline "Restaurants hit with $780,000 in fines over COVID rules, Washington officials say."