The Minnesota attorney general took action Friday against an East Grand Forks bar that refused to close its doors this week, with its owner defiantly insisting she will serve diners indoors despite Gov. Tim Walz’s executive order barring such activities in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Attorney General Keith Ellison on Friday filed a lawsuit and motion for a temporary restraining order prohibiting the Boardwalk Bar and Grill from remaining open for sit-down service, a news release from the Attorney General’s Office said.
“COVID-19 is deadly serious: it doesn’t care who you are or where you live, and it’s hurting people in every corner of Minnesota. This is why it’s everyone’s responsibility to stop it,” Ellison said in a statement. “Most Minnesota business owners recognize this: they’re making sacrifices to comply with the law because they care about the health of their employees and communities.”
The legal actions against Boardwalk follow local law enforcement’s attempt to enforce the executive order on Wednesday, the day the restaurant reopened.
On Thursday, the Minnesota Department of Health served a cease and desist order to the restaurant. The restaurant then stated publicly that it will remain open.
“Most of us can’t survive financially unless we open back up,” said owner Jane Moss, adding that restaurants next door in North Dakota were open and “doing well.”
The Attorney General has the civil authority to “enforce the prohibition and seek relief if necessary,” the news release said, citing the high rates of COVID-19 infection in Polk County, where the tavern is located, and in neighboring North Dakota, which has the highest per capita rate of COVID-19 cases in the United States.
Another act of defiance cropped up in Belle Plaine, where the Natural Fitness gym opened Friday despite Walz’s order.
Owners Cory and Sarah Czepa posted a message on the gym’s Facebook page Thursday announcing that the doors to the 24-hour gym were open to members.
“We are simply just another business who is trying to survive and serve our customers and clients,” they said in the post. “We have been informed the punishment can be extremely severe but we believe we are doing no harm.”
The couple declined to comment about the decision.
It wasn’t clear Friday afternoon whether state officials were aware of the gym’s opening or whether any enforcement actions are planned.
The Boardwalk Bar and Grill enforcement is the second such action related to Walz’s most recent executive order and the fourth related to compliance with COVID-19 executive orders, including the June order that lifted certain limitations on social interactions in indoor settings. That order allowed establishments serving food and beverages to open at 50% capacity, with a limit of 250 people at a time.
The news release said Ellison’s office has worked with more than 100 businesses to gain compliance with the executive orders.
Staff writer Jackie Crosby contributed to this report.
Erin Adler • 612-673-1781