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Los Angeles County closed outdoor restaurants on November 25 for three weeks in response to an increase in coronavirus cases, but a Redondo Beach restaurateur said he was not closing a store.
The patios at Eat at Joe’s, a “South Bay landmark” since 1969, were full Monday afternoon with customers supporting the move.
“I think this is all a travesty,” said client Terry Kane. “It kills the small businesses, the small restaurants, it kills the employees. They have no other way to earn an income. There is no stimulus. There is no relief from California. on restaurants. ”
A banner hung outside the longtime restaurant reads “The French Laundry Patio Dining” – an obvious dig at California Governor Gavin Newsom’s recent dinner amid the coronavirus pandemic. After photos of Newsom attending the expensive party without a mask were released, he apologized, calling it a “big mistake.”
Eating at Joe’s owner Alex Jordan says Newsom’s dining outing was “totally hypocritical.” He said the move “put him on edge,” prompting him to hang the “The French Laundry” banner outside Joe.
“If it’s good enough for Gavin Newsom, it’s good enough for all of my clients,” Jordan said.
And, the decision to keep his restaurant open is to “keep my employees employed during this difficult time of the year,” he added.
NBC4’s Conan Nolan chats with Los Angeles restaurateur Caroline Styne at the Independent Restaurant Coalition about the impact of the latest alfresco dining ban on the restaurant industry, even if it’s only for three weeks. Many restaurants are barely arriving and many won’t be returning, Styne says. Are they unfairly targeted?
He said he felt it was “somewhat unfair,” saying his company and employees followed rules and regulations for temperature control, social distancing and masks, but “they [LA County] keep moving the goal line further and further back. ”
County health officials said at last week’s supervisory board meeting that they were okay with the targeted restaurant enforcement, but there are 31,000 restaurants in the county, and only enough ‘inspectors available to visit around 1% of them per week.
If the LA County Department of Health closes its restaurant completely, it says, “I wouldn’t be worse off than I would be if I never stayed open. We will stay open as long as possible.”
On Sunday, the county reported 5,014 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 16 more deaths, bringing the county’s total to 395,843 cases and 7,639 deaths.
Even more worrying, the continued rise in hospitalizations, which reached 2049 on Sunday, reaching its highest level since the summer.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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