Judge orders temporary closure of Missouri restaurant over mask dispute

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. (KY3) – A judge has ordered a temporary closure of a Kansas City suburban restaurant because the owner has repeatedly refused to follow a mask warrant.

Jackson County Judge James Kanatazar on Friday granted the county’s request for a temporary restraining order against Rae’s Cafe in Blue Springs.

The county also filed a petition to permanently prevent the owner from operating in violation of the health ordinance.

Before the judge’s ruling, Jackson County health officials and sheriff’s deputies ordered cafe owner Amanda Wohletz to shut down because the mask’s warrant was being ignored. But the business continued to operate on Friday morning.

Rae’s Cafe’s food permit was suspended last week. The owner then reopened as a private club, which charges guests $ 1 to join and bans masks.

Jackson County said in a statement that it “will take the necessary steps to ensure that the health order is enforced.”

Wohletz said she and all of her employees were medically exempt from the mask warrant, but did not explain their medical conditions, the Kansas City Star reported.

The county said Rae’s Cafe is the first business it tried to shut down for failing to meet county requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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