On Nov. 18, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear issued six new regulations to try to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth. The restrictions went into effect on Nov. 20 and last until 11:59 p.m. Dec. 13.
One of the six new orders was that restaurants and bars in the state must close to indoor service — but outdoor seating, carry-out, delivery and to-go orders are still OK.
At the time he issued the restrictions, Beshear said the CDC, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University and local health departments all agree that spread — "if not the greatest spread" — is coming from bars and restaurants.
Well, Beans Cafe & Bakery — with locations in Dry Ridge and Hebron — is hearing none of it.
In a post on their website, owner Richard Hayhoe says they will not be shutting down their indoor dining.
"We have received many emails and requests from others that appreciate our standing up against the business suffocating dictates coming from Governor Andy Beshear's office. Beginning Friday Nov. 20 at 5pm our indoor dining room was no longer allowed to be used to eat in. I could, however, purchase tents, heating equipment & lighting and simply seat people outside. The irony of seating people inside a tent that is outside is not lost on the common sense of regular thinking but that is the ridiculousness of the rules we must follow!
We will be keeping our dining room open until such time that we have exhausted every legal avenue to defend the business against these unlawful guidelines."
He also posted a letter, saying that the survivability rate of COVID is above 99.6%.
The cafe says people were asking how they could support the business, and Hayhoe says by helping them pay for "any legal issues that we may find ourselves embroiled in by standing up for your right to choose where to eat and what to wear!"
Their GoFundMe page for the Beans Freedom Defense fund has since raised more than $2,900.
Beshear said the new restrictions would be enforced by the counties. But unlike the Hamilton County Sheriff and Cincinnati Police Department, who said they would be enforcing Ohio's new curfew, the Grant County Sheriffs Office and Dry Ridge Police Department have not publicly said they would be enforcing the regulations.
However, yesterday, Beans posted that they received a notice from NKY Health that suspends their food service permit. The restaurant said they will still remain open.
