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.
Ignore them. Stay open.
L
I love to visit the Maine coast during the winter it is very quiet and peaceful.
No, he really doesn’t, not considering the “national crisis” mode we’re in.
George Bush’s approval rating was in the 80 and 90 percent range in the first few months following 9/11. That’s what it looks like when people are getting behind a leader.
He was apparently going to do that and then changed his mind.
Lawyers must have told him it would be better to handle it in court.
Sort of like the advice that it’s pointless to argue with a cop on the side of the road, you only dig yourself deeper. Better to fight it in court.
I just sent a donation.
You can’t address one point I made, just typical insults. You are pathetic.
I support Trump, but I refuse to leave my common sense at the door, and ignore the obvious in front of me.
I would NEVER advocate for it but I am surprised there has been no violence over this thus far.
Folks get hungry they do foolish things.
And some of these power hungry a-holes are stoopid.
He should bring his business down here to Florida.
Maine and Nebraska(?) do the the electoral vote right . . . by congressional districts instead of winner take all.
When are they going to drag some of these Totalitarian’s out and Tar and Feather them??
Yeah. A few points on that, I'll try to go in a logical order.
The legislature has passed laws that give the governor certain powers in an emergency. This makes sense for most emergencies have geographic scope limitations and fairly short time duration. Natural disaster, flood, fire.
None of these laws anticipate an emergency that covers the whole state for months, or some indefinite time. That is part of the problem. Also part of the problem is the governor is the person who makes the declaration.
Under Maine law, once this declaration has been made, the governor gets power to pass regulations relating to the called emergency. The governor has a 30 day window, but under Maine law, these can be renewed one after another without limit. The legislature can, if it wants to (it doesn't) step in and retake the power it has delegated to the governor.
Mills has gone a step further and appointed minion agencies to write the regulations. The doctors are now in charge. The legislature is absent.
Adding insult to injury, if any of the regulations is challenged in court, the court will defer to the emergency. We are now literally under a legal philosophy where if it is not expressly permitted (at the individual level), it is prohibited, under criminal penalty. It is a crime to leave your property unless for a permitted purpose.
I live in Maine. I am an officer in the church, I have a law degree, a few contacts. I'm not afraid to pick up the phone, and I have. The regulations here are a hot mess. The natives are a mixed bag, like here. Some reallydo think the sky is falling. By and large the cops aren't put in the spot of having to enforce anything because the people are by and large falling in line.
If it gets ugly, the state will not get much notice, if any. It'll just happen. There is a HUGE amount of animosity and ill will built up. The government is NOT attending to its people, it is stepping all over them.
‘effing Nazis. Some FReeper who is an attorney and licensed where this poor man is should represent him. I am licensed in Colorado, but my dues have been owed for a long time. It would be a mess even if I did live in the man’s state.
If someone does step up, I’m pretty sure we would all like to hear any updates on the case.
Blah! Blah! Blah!
Blah! Blah! Blah!
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I figured you were incapable of addressing anything I brought up.
You're right, it'll never happen with Mills and her flying monkeys in charge. The Republican leadership in the legislature tried. They sent a letter to Troy Jackson and Sarah Gideon requestins they call the legislature into a special session to amend the emergency powers granted to Mills. It's most likely in their trash cans by now.
There have been a couple of protests in Augusta though, which I'm so glad to see.
These arrogant Dems are playing with fire.
If and when this breaks open, there won’t be much in the way of forewarning. Not saying anything is planned, it isn’t. But “breaking point” can be unpredictable, sudden, and overwhelming.
Yep, and not only is our tourism on the rocks, but the lobster boats aren't even running.
A lot of seaside towns depend on both.
Even Bush didn’t have the media opposition 24/7/365 that President Trump does. It’s unparalleled in my lifetime
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