A Colorado restaurant at the center of a viral “reopen” video has been shut down “for at least 30 days” by the health department. In addressing the forced closure of the restaurant Monday, Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) slammed those who defy state “social distancing” orders as a result of their “ideological or anti-scientific views” and warned of even more serious consequences than being forced to temporarily close.
As The Daily Wire reported, C&C Breakfast & Korean Kitchen in Castle Rock, Colorado, reopened on Mother’s Day in defiance of the state order mandating all restaurants remain closed to in-store diners. “We are standing for America, small businesses, the Constitution and against the overreach of our governor in Colorado!!” the restaurant said in a Twitter post addressed to President Trump.
Video posted on social media of the “illegal” reopening showed the restaurant packed with customers, most free of masks and ignoring state-mandated “social distancing” measures. “So much for some of those people saying nobody would show up,” owner April Arellano said in a Facebook livestream of the reopening. “And our patio’s full too. Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for this support guys. I gotta get back to work. Have a great day.”
@realDonaldTrump We are standing for America, small businesses, the Constitution and against the overreach of our governor in Colorado!! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 https://t.co/dfzdR7bKFe
— C&C Coffee and Kitchen (@cccoffeekitchen) May 9, 2020
Happy Mother’s Day from C& C in Castle Rock, where the owner said this is almost double a normal Mother’s Day. pic.twitter.com/cPSzjmAfAg
— Nick Puckett (@puckettwrites) May 10, 2020
The governor’s office quickly decried the actions of the restaurant. “These restaurants are not only breaking the law, they are endangering the lives of their staff, customers, and community,” said deputy press secretary Shelby Wieman in a statement reported by The Denver Post. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment told the paper Sunday that violation of the state’s order is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $1,000 or up to a year in jail.
The next day, the Tri-County Health Department issued an order closing the restaurant. “The health department said the restaurant will remain closed until they determine the establishment is in compliance with the public health order,” CBS4 Denver reported.
“We sincerely hope that C&C will choose to cooperate with the rules under which they are allowed to operate so we can lift this closure order,” said Tri-County Health Department Executive Director John M. Douglas, Jr., MD.
But in his comments on the closure of C&C Breakfast & Korean Kitchen, Gov. Polis specified that the restaurant will be forced to remain closed for at least 30 days.
“I joined most Coloradans in in our frustration watching videos of people illegally packed into restaurants and thinking about all the moms and grandmothers and aunts and everyone who was put at increased risk of dying from this horrible virus,” said Polis, as reported by CBS4. “When people see videos of people packed into a restaurant, with no social distancing and no masks, people feel less safe, and the widespread economic pain will only be prolonged.”
The Democratic governor then slammed those who are acting on what he describe as “ideological or anti-scientific views.”
“We’re walking a tightrope between protecting all of our health, and of course, trying to grow our economy,” he added. “It’s hard enough to walk without folks shaking the rope, because of their own ideological or anti-scientific views, which they choose over the lives of our brothers and sisters.”
He also warned that those businesses that defy the state’s order could end up being stripped of their business licenses or enmeshed in costly legal battles.
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