Weld County Restaurants Wrestle Between County & State Coronavirus Orders
WINDSOR, Colo. (CBS4)– Many Weld County restauranteurs say they are ready to begin hosting guests again, even though Gov. Jared Polis is threatening to revoke state licenses of those who do not follow state guidelines. Weld County commissioners said any businesses within the county could return to regular business on Monday, after Polis' stay-at-home order expires.
However, Polis threatened to revoke emergency funding to the county, on top of taking away licenses from restaurants that violate social distancing guidelines.
Tim Downey, owner of The Windsor Mill Tavern, told CBS4's Dillon Thomas the orders from the governor are jeopardizing the future of many businesses which are barely hanging on during the COVID-19 response.
"(COVID-19 and the shutdown) just took the wind out of the sails, and we are ready to start sailing," Downey said. "It is a sad reminder when I come to work, people are missing. These chairs, they are empty. But, I can see the faces that sat in them."
Downey said he was thrilled to hear the county was going to relax enforcement on the stay-at-home order by allowing businesses to reopen so long as they follow guidelines to assure customers are safe.
"You try to quell your excitement that a day is coming," Downey said.
However, only hours after the county announced their plans to do so, Polis told the media of his intentions to take whatever actions he could to prevent them from opening and putting the public at risk.
More than a month after Downey laid off more than 30 staff members, a majority of his team, he was forced to consider both the county's and governor's rules. Ultimately, he decided to not chance losing his liquor license to the governor.
"Local government plays a role, and state government plays a role," Downey said. "Our liquor license is held by the state, so by no means would we want to risk that."
Downey, like other Weld County restaurateurs CBS4 spoke with, said his restaurant already took significant effort to assuring the dining experience was clean for customers before COVID-19. He said he was willing to enforce distancing guidelines, and even check temperatures of customers, just to be able to have people dine in his venue.
"It was tough to know there are people out there that are ready to go, and there are people out there that aren't. I get that, I guess. But, it is tough to be on the yo-yo portion of that," Downey said.
Multiple restaurant owners in Weld County, including Downey, told CBS4 they preferred Weld County's option to reopen. However, all that CBS4 spoke with said they wouldn't gamble their state licenses just to host limited numbers of guests.
Downey said he hoped the state would allow restaurants to start accepting dine-in customers, even if on a limited basis. He said the state would need to issue further clarification on those rules, including on what a 10-person limited gathering would initially entail.
Until the governor loosens restrictions on restaurants, or allows counties to choose their rules, Downey said his staff will stay in a holding pattern while continuing to offer take-out and delivery.
"We're ready to go," Downey said. "I think it is time. At some point we need to get moving."+
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