Posted on 05/02/2020 7:20:19 AM PDT by raccoonradio
NEWRY, Maine — The co-owner of Sunday River Brewing Co. in Newry who defied state orders by opening his doors to diners on Friday afternoon has lost his state health and liquor licenses, he said.
Restaurants must obtain state heath licenses to legally serve food.
More than 150 people came to Sunday River Brewing Co. in Newry on Friday afternoon after co-owner Rick Savage announced Thursday night that he would reopen in defiance of state orders meant to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
After learning that he’d lost the licenses around 4:30 p.m., Savage initially said he planned to keep operating the restaurant and just pay the daily fines that he would face. However, later in the evening, Sunday River Brewing Co. posted a Facebook post stating that the restaurant would be closed until further notice.
Frustration with the state’s coronavirus-related business restrictions has been growing in some circles, but the restaurant’s deliberate act of disobedience appeared to be the clearest example yet of those tensions boiling over in Maine.
Although the restaurant initially said it would open at 4 p.m., it started serving food after people showed up around noon in defiance of a March order from Gov. Janet Mills that barred dine-in restaurant service.
By 4:30 p.m., the crowd of diners lined up around the building on Route 2 had grown to a peak of around 150. By 6 p.m., the restaurant had served roughly 250 people, according to an employee.
Savage, who announced the restaurant’s opening on Fox News on Thursday night while criticizing the Democratic governor and reading her cellphone number on the air, said that he was not worried some of the diners coming from areas with more documented coronavirus cases would spread it in his restaurant.
That was partly because he was enforcing distancing guidelines that other businesses have adopted during the pandemic. If Home Depot, Lowes and Walmart “can do 6-foot spacing and be open,” then his restaurant could as well, he said.
“I really don’t believe it. I don’t believe it at this point,” he said, when asked if it might be dangerous to let those diners into the restaurant. “I’m not a medical expert. I serve food, you know.”
As for the many diners standing less than 6 feet from each other while waiting for a seat, he said, “I can’t tell them where to stand and what to do. We’re America. If they want to isolate, they can isolate.”
Violating orders made under the governor’s emergency powers are punishable as a misdemeanor crime and the deputy director of the state’s liquor regulator said Savage could face a penalty if he opened to dine-in customers.
I live in Maine and I always vote Republican for EVERY office.
I met a nurse who has a relative who works on a lobster boat here in Maine.
She said the lobstermen were selling their catch for two dollars a pound on the dock, just to get rid of it.
After they sold their catch, they were staying ashore. No more lobster fishing for them for the foreseeable future.
I’m assuming with most of the restaurants closed around the country, there isn’t much of a demand for their product.
They CAN recall any governor perhaps the good folks f Maine need to get the hell of the couch and start the petition!!!
There ARE MANY Dem small business owners can’t believe they spill continue to sit still while their businesses are destroyed!!
Every small-business owning, independent American knows that, or has recently learned it. Unfortunately, that's only about 5% of of the voting public.
Nontheless, we have to get our message out:
A VOTE FOR ANY DEMOCRAT IS A VOTE AGAINST AMERICA!
Outstanding meme!
Taxman Bravo Zulu!
Please use it whenever and wherever appropriate.
I’ll do likewise!
Hope they are the good guy lawyers.
Many of thee Dems are so drunk on power they are staggering and falling down. In Purple states this will hurt Dem Governors. In NY, nothing will change.
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