Restaurant owner Carl Dene has lost a lot of money since COVID-19 emerged nearly a year ago. He is now down to only two restaurants after having to close Chianina Steakhouse on East 2nd Street in Long Beach due to the coronavirus and its resulting restrictions.
“It was a fine dining steakhouse establishment,” Dene told the Southern California Record. “We actually were the only ones in the United States that had this breed of cattle and you can't just pause that type of a business when you are the only restaurant with the Chianina breed of cow. Takeout for a steakhouse doesn’t work and rent is not going away.”
Dene’s two remaining eateries, Sam's General Store inside the Brannan Cottage Inn in Calistoga and Michael’s Downtown in Long Beach, are operating at an 85% loss, earning only 15% of former sales.
“Going into Thanksgiving, everybody was managing on outdoor dining and then all of a sudden it was shut down,” he said.
Dene is among some 70 owners of restaurants and wine tasting rooms in Sonoma and Napa who have formed a coalition called Wine Country Coalition for Safe Reopening to oppose Gov. Newsom’s COVID-19 restrictions last year that prohibit outdoor dining, according to media reports.
“We feel it is unfair and arbitrary,” Dene said in an interview. “Honestly, it's demonizing our business because there are a fraction of people who truly believe that there's a massive spread that happened from restaurants but obviously it's not coming from outdoor dining because restaurants are closed.”
Last week, the Wine Country Coalition for Safe Reopening sued Gov Newsom, seeking declaratory relief
“The Coalition supports the state’s efforts to limit the spread of COVID but not the needless sacrifice of its businesses and community members for no purpose,” said attorney Thomas Harvey who filed the Jan. 18 complaint on behalf of the wineries and eateries.
“There is no scientific evidence indicating that when conducted with protective measures, outdoor dining or wine tasting contributes to the spread of the disease. Defendants’ ban on outdoor dining and tasting likely increases risk because it drives people into indoor gatherings— away from compliance protocols that are proven to stop the spread.”
Dene said he’s surprised at the state’s reaction to the lawsuit.
Jesse Melgar, a spokesperson for Gov. Newsom told CBS last week, “We will vigorously defend against this lawsuit challenging public health orders implemented to save lives and prevent the regional medical system from collapsing, so all residents can access life-saving treatment. We are confident the court will uphold the order, as have numerous courts that have recently considered similar challenges.”
Dene had hoped the state would settle with the coalition.
“Instead of the governor responding with compassion and helping small businesses or sitting down and talking about how we can reopen safely, his response is to go after all these small businesses that are already failing and go after us hard,” he said.