Washington bar backs down after defying COVID-19 safety guidelines, officials say
A bar in Washington is backing down after fighting the state’s COVID-19 restrictions by offering indoor dining and violating masking rules, a spokesperson with the Liquor and Cannabis Board said.
Steven Siler, owner of Stimpy’s Sports Bar and Grill in Kent, told The Seattle Times he has decided to comply with the restrictions and pay a $2,400 fine for the violations. The board confirmed to McClatchy News that those fines stem from violation notices issued on Dec. 22 and Dec. 29, although the original fines were higher than what Siler has agreed to pay.
Siler had until Thursday to come into compliance or the bar’s liquor license would be suspended, Julie Graham, a spokesperson for the board, told McClatchy.
Stimpy’s fined for COVID-19 violations
Gov. Jay Inslee’s indoor dining restrictions went into effect Nov. 18, prohibiting bars and restaurants from allowing people to eat inside their establishments. Those restrictions have since been updated to allow for restaurants in counties in phase 2 of the state’s reopening plan — which includes King County — to offer indoor dining at 25% capacity.
Siler told local media in early January, when Seattle and King County Public Health temporarily closed the restaurant for its violations, that he wasn’t trying to make a statement.
The business owner said he was just trying to keep his restaurant afloat.
“This is a survival thing where it’s either open or die and it’s all I have,” said Siler, according to the KOMO. “And if I lose my bar, I lose my house and I lose everything. And at some point you have to fight back and I’m just trying to survive.”
The agency said at the time that Stimpy’s would be allowed to reopen when indoor dining restrictions were relaxed and/or if the bar came into compliance with the guidelines, McClatchy reported. A post on Stimpy’s Facebook page announced the bar reopened for indoor service on Feb. 1.
Washington’s reopening plan
The state revised its reopening plan in early January to focus on a region-based approach rather than county-by-county.
Inslee’s plan “aims to safely ease some restrictions while also maintaining crucial hospital capacity,” the governor’s website says. The state is divided into eight regions based on health care systems during the two-phased plan.
The Puget Sound and West regions are in phase 2, while all other regions are in phase 1, which only permits outdoor dining and to-go services.
Regions must meet four qualifications before moving into phase 2, including a certain percentage of decreases in case rates, hospital admission rates, an ICU occupancy rate below 90% and a less than 10% positivity rate.
The Washington Department of Health has reported 308,392 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 4,603 deaths as of Thursday.
This story was originally published February 11, 2021 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Washington bar backs down after defying COVID-19 safety guidelines, officials say."