Taking a ‘stand against the unjust’ COVID-19 restrictions, KY restaurant lets diners eat in
The owners of a Western Kentucky restaurant said they plan to defy the governor’s order and keep their business open to dine-in customers.
The owners of Traveler’s Lantern Market and Cafe in Todd County said in a Facebook post Saturday morning that they “are going to stand with other patriotic restaurant owners across the commonwealth” and stay open for dine-in business.
“This is a time to rise, and stand against the unjust being placed on our local economy and all small businesses,” Traveler’s Lantern said in the Facebook post. “Our elected officials are put in place by God, according to the Bible to punish evil, and to praise those who do good. And according to our laws to uphold the constitution of the United States, and to promote liberty and freedom for all.”
The Trenton restaurant hosted a pizza dinner Friday night with “dine in, curbside, or pickup available,” according to a previous Facebook post.
Gov. Andy Beshear’s emergency order barring restaurants from offering indoor seating service took effect at 5 p.m. Friday and continues through Dec. 13.
Beshear has acknowledged the damage the hospitality industry is enduring but has said restrictions are necessary to curb the spread of COVID-19.
He is offering a $40 million aid package to help locally owned restaurants and bars, though many restaurant owners fear it may not be enough to keep them afloat.
“We are calling on all elected officials and those in power to not only support the local businesses and the free citizens of the great Commonwealth, by quietly standing with them, but we need them to publicly stand up and lead the charge, and to fight for the rights of EVERY business owner,” the owners of Traveler’s Lantern wrote Saturday.
The owners said in the post that local law enforcement officers had told them “’you will not have any issues from us’ (unofficially) referring to the mask mandate.” And they said they “want to thank our local health department for forgoing their ‘right’ to shut us down for not enforcing the mask mandate.”
The Todd County Health Department responded to the post in a statement on Facebook, saying “These statements put our community elected officials, law enforcement, and health department in a very tough place. We love and support all of our local restaurants and encourage our residents to continue to buy local by utilizing curbside, delivery, and takeout. Many restaurants have flourished during this time by being creative, outside of the box thinkers and planners to keep their business thriving. This is a hard time for everyone.....its not fun.....its not fair.....and we sure wish we were doing business as usual. But until we are able to slow the spread of this virus, we are going to have to love one another by protecting one another.”
The health department encouraged citizens to “buy local” and help keep local restaurants open, “BUT DO IT CURBSIDE, DELIVERY, OR TAKE-OUT,” the post stated.
Health department Director Jennifer Harris told the Todd County Standard newspaper that she doesn’t “feel like we have a choice but to enforce” the governor’s order.
“There is a process we are going to have to go through,” she said.
Beshear spokeswoman Crystal Staley responded to questions about the restaurant by issuing a statement Saturday, saying that, “given the Supreme Court’s ruling, if an establishment violates the order it is violating the rule of law and all levels of government have a duty to take action.”
“In the midst of this pandemic, we thank the thousands of establishments that are following the orders to save lives and defeat this virus,” Staley said in the statement. “While the orders are hard on so many, we are in the midst of an explosion of the virus that threatens to overwhelm our health care systems and decimate our long-term care facilities.”
This story was originally published November 21, 2020 at 1:56 PM.
