In Gurnee, Timothy O’Toole’s, Stevens’ and Kaiser’s Pizza and Pub joined The Shanty in neighboring Wadsworth this week to announce the move on Facebook.
The coalition promises what it calls a responsible, 25% reduced capacity, socially distant indoor experience that violates state-imposed Tier 3 mitigation rules.
In its online statement, the group said in part, “Our teams have been sacrificing a lot since March with two full indoor shutdowns.”
They go on to say that all four restaurants “… have a deep respect for the safety-paramount approach in each of our businesses from the very beginning.”
The owner of the nearby Riverside Cafe, Paola Smith, said she is also welcoming new customers in starting Friday, up to 25% capacity, encouraged by the decision of the other local businesses.
That coalition said it has contacted health officials to share its plans.
In a statement, the Illinois Department of Public Health did not specifically address the company’s decision, but said, “Lake County is not meeting the statistics to return to previous levels.”
The Lake County health department said it “knew” some restaurants were planning to reopen Friday.
“Our policy has been and will continue to be that when we are notified of restaurants violating restrictive restrictions, we contact them and if they choose to continue serving indoors, they will be quoted for violating public nuisance ordinance of Lake County by creating or permitting conditions that could be detrimental to the health of Lake County residents, “the department said in a statement.
All of this comes as a few other counties in Illinois prepare to get out of Tier 3 restrictive measures.
For now Chicago is not in that group, but the mayor of the city has expressed support for relaxed restrictions on city restaurants.
“I feel very strongly that we have reached the point where we should be talking about opening bars and restaurants,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
Read Lake County’s full statement here:
“The Lake County Health Department is aware that some restaurants in the county plan to have indoor dining on January 15, 2021. Eating indoors is still prohibited in Lake County, according to the Governor’s Executive Order. Our policy was and will continue to be that when we are notified of restaurants violating the restriction restrictions, we will contact them and if they choose to continue serving indoors, they will be quoted for violating Lake County’s public nuisance ordinance due to circumstances create or permit potentially harmful to the health of Lake County residents. Fines may be imposed for these violations. Other enforcement action may also be taken if there is evidence that transmission of COVID-19 has taken place, or likely to take place in a restaurant if immediate action is not taken. “
Illinois Restaurant Association also released a statement that read:
“We appreciate the dialogue with Governor Pritzker and his team. While every step towards reopening helps, today’s announcement does not meet the critical needs and expectations of the restaurant industry. As outlined, restaurants in all regions of our state will remain closed to allow entry. until they reach level 1 – contributing to growing debt, devastating job losses and business closures. In addition, the restaurants in the Tier 1 regions that offer limited indoor meals can only do so with a capacity of less than 25 percent, or 25 total guests per room. No restaurant can break even at that volume, let alone take back their team members. As one of the most regulated health and safety industries – and with enhanced measures introduced during COVID-19 – Illinois restaurants know how to protect the wellbeing of their guests and team members hermen. They are able to safely serve more guests than the state currently allows, and they need more to survive this crisis. In the interest of the nearly 100,000 restaurant industry workers who lost their jobs between February and November, we urge the state to rethink this strategy and place greater confidence in the industry that has been serving as Illinois’ largest employer served in the private sector. The IRA will continue to push for more pragmatic reopening rules, in addition to increased support and relief for Illinois restaurants and hospitality businesses. “
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