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.
...and as you say, I’m just waiting for the equivalent call to power due to ‘climate change’. No way the left doesn’t use it.
Outside of Portland, sherifs will not enforce this.
With cases like this, it appears that Trump’s move to allow state control of lockdown initiatives is very shrewd...
There’s no better spotlight on leftism and fascism than what Democratic-led states have been doing (with the exception of perhaps Ohio). This may be just enough of a push to pull an appreciable number of independent and right minded leftists to either sit out the election or vote for candidates who believe in our constitutional rights.
I know several left-leaning friends and family members in Michigan who are beside themselves over Whitless’s house arrest orders. I wonder if they’ll remember all of this come November...
Hey, maine voters. This is what you get for voting LIB/leftist losers into positions of authority and responsibility. Maybe you should rethink the way you think.
Lose your business as a compliant, worthless little simp, or go out swinging.
Payback’s a bitch.
Nice sarcasm.
Yet, Trump continues to poll very high.
I’ll need to refer to this again.
Excellent.
Addressing you direct: You don’t matter. You are blather from the peanut gallery, a Monday morning water boy chastising the coach.
Time to start Suing
I disagree. Unless conservatives and Trump supporters fail to counteract the drive-by media’s spin, the Dems will own the lockdown and its consequences. And with a great communicator in the White House, I don’t believe they will do so.
More criminal government.
JoMa
How long have you been an idiot? Change your tagline, get off this forum, and join the Biden campaign.
So you think things are going just fine? Rat dictators ruining hard working Americans while Trump stays silent is okay by you?
For violating the terms of the license, not just because you made the governor look stupid.
Cities + rank stench voting = my vote doesn’t count.
How long is he brilliantly going to let it continue? Until someone gets mad enough to bring out the rifle and put someone down? Until a governor takes it too far and the national guard is on every corner?
Trump should start a GoFundMe page for this restaurant owner and contribute the first hundred bucks. I suppose if he did that everyone would expect it though.
There’s a saying: Republicans hold office, but democrats hold power.
It seems like the Republicans put up token resistance but year by year the leftist agenda is the one that advances. I’m so tired of Mitch McConnell droning on but doing nothing, I could puke.
Wonder how much money he is going to get our of the state. There is nothing in the health code or the liquor license laws that states “Thou shall obey the governor.” Just about any attorney could have a field day with this one.
I trust the President over self righteous conservatives who oppose him every day of the year.
If you’re so smart, why aren’t you president?
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