After days of defiance, Lexington coffee shop to follow order to stop serving food, drink
A Lexington coffee shop that has repeatedly and publicly defied health department instructions related to COVID-19 restrictions will now follow a judge’s order to cease food and beverage services.
The battle between Andrew Cooperrider, the owner of Brewed, and the Lexington health department continued for days.
Brewed opened in Lexington during the pandemic and defied Gov. Andy Beshear’s executive order to shut down indoor dining at restaurants and bars. Beshear said the order was issued to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Kentucky.
Brewed was ordered by Fayette Circuit Court Judge Thomas Travis Tuesday to cease food and beverage service until Beshear’s executive order expires on Dec. 13. The order came after several ignored closure orders from the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department and a lawsuit seeking an injunction.
The health department posted a $5,000 bond required by Travis before the order could go into effect. The bond was posted Wednesday, hours after Brewed was open and serving customers.
Nevertheless, Cooperrider’s coffee shopped posted on its Facebook page Wednesday afternoon that it respected the government’s system of “checks and balances” and would follow the judge’s order to stop serving food and beverage. Instead, Brewed will be operating as an “event venue” where people will be allowed to meet friends, work or study, according to the post.
The health department initially told Brewed on Nov. 24 to stop letting patrons eat and drink inside the shop.
Cooperrider refused to comply. The health department went a step further and suspended the shop’s food license on Nov. 24. Revoking the food license meant Cooperrider wasn’t legally allowed to serve food or drinks at all, but he defied that order as well and stayed open.
The state’s Alcohol Beverage Control office got involved Nov. 25 after Cooperrider refused to follow three health department orders. Brewed also sold beer, but the state temporarily revoked the shop’s license to serve alcohol.
The local health department filed the lawsuit against Cooperrider on Nov. 25 to get the temporary injunction that would legally force the shop to close.
After Cooperrider’s shop opened again on Wednesday morning, at least two uniformed Lexington police officers gave Brewed their business, according to WKYT, the Herald-Leader’s reporting partner. A Fayette County Public Schools officer also stopped at Brewed. Brewed had announced on Facebook Tuesday that all first responders would get a 50 percent discount on their orders.
Brewed said it was giving them the discount because the Lexington Police Department had “refused” to shut the shop down last week. Police characterized the situation differently.
Lexington police were called to Brewed last week when they refused to adhere to the governor’s executive order, police spokeswoman Brenna Angel said. But after discussions with the health department, Lexington police determined that the issue was a civil matter, and it couldn’t take action.
“Claims that Lexington Police ‘refused’ to shut down the business are inaccurate,” Angel said. “We have been in contact with the health department regarding steps going forward in light of their court case.”
Angel also addressed the fact that officers were seen at the shop Wednesday morning.
“Lexington police expects all personnel to be aware of their actions, particularly while in uniform, and how those actions reflect on the department as a whole,” she said. “Reports have been made that two officers were seen patronizing Brewed Wednesday morning. We will address this report with any officers involved.”
Beshear criticized the officers during his COVID-19 update Wednesday evening.
“For a law enforcement officer to walk into a place that’s blatantly violating the rule of law, how can they expect other people that they interact with to follow the rule of law? If somebody doesn’t believe in certain laws that we have out there, or drug laws for instance, I hope those police officers expect them to follow it,” Beshear said. “And I certainly would like to see a better example.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 12:15 PM.