Grizzly Rose Owner Shares Explanation After Latest COVID Violation
ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - A video widely shared on social media shows a packed dance floor and clear violations of Tri-County Health COVID restrictions at The Grizzly Rose in Adams County.
"Under Level Orange, all restaurants, including The Grizzly Rose, are required to adhere to 25% capacity, or 50 people, whichever is fewer," said Brian Hlavacek, Environmental Health Director for Tri-County Health.
Social distancing and mask protocols at the popular country music venue are now being questioned. This isn't the first time The Grizzly Rose has failed to follow COVID-19 safety protocols.
"Back in the fall, it was complaints of capacity and lack of mask wearing. At the time we were working proactively with the owner, who was being cooperative, to try and gain voluntarily compliance," Hlavacek said. "We did issue a warning notice back in October, and then following that, the owner decided to temporarily close for the winter and just recently reopened."
Monday morning, The Grizzly Rose owner, Scott Durland, contacted Tri-County Health and said he would temporarily and voluntarily close again.
In a statement to CBS4, Durland said:
"I want to let viewers know we weren't trying to subvert the Colorado COVID regulations for bars and restaurants over the weekend. In fact, we have not advertised being open for the past three weekends because we could not handle a crowd with the current state mandates. I was out of town Saturday night and was called by my staff because of long lines, so I instructed them to let them in. I will continue to remain closed until we are able to remain within the current state mandates or can no longer sustain the revenue loss."
Now, Tri-County Health says they'll be watching what The Grizzly Rose does next.
"We look at the egregious nature of what it is we're dealing with, and in the past how cooperative they've been," Hlavacek said. "All of these things factor in, and we have some options, and we're working on next steps, whether it's a cease and desist or an order to close."
