The Shooter’s Grill in Rifle, Colorado, is on my list of places to visit; while I’ve spent a fair amount of time mooching about in that general area, I somehow haven’t yet been there. That has to change. Now the Shooter’s Grill is open in defiance of a stay-closed order. As of yesterday, they’re fighting to get their license back, as Garfield County is punishing them for their act of civil disobedience. Now I want to visit them more. Excerpt:
After a cease and desist letter, a temporary restraining order and being told by Garfield County Public Health not to serve customers on the premise, Shooters Grill owner Lauren Beobert decided to take it outside.
Dining, that is.
With most businesses continuing to adhere to public health orders from local and state governments and minimal vehicle traffic on Third Street Thursday morning, Boebert set up tables on the sidewalk and parking spaces outside of her downtown Rifle restaurant and began serving breakfast to customers.
“I’ve been patient, followed all of the proper channels, and provided service in a safe and responsible manner using the same guidelines as neighboring Mesa County restaurants. When that wasn’t good enough for our local officials, they issued a cease and desist,” Boebert said in a statement Thursday. “The fact remains that my staff needs their paychecks, so this morning I moved my tables out onto the city street and opened back up for business.”
State and local orders prohibit restaurants from offering food or beverages for on-premises consumption, as well as movement in and out of restaurants by the public until May 27.
That’s six days from today; we’ll see what happens.
It’s also important to note that the Shooter’s Grill owner, Lauren Boebert, is running for Congress. We wish her luck; unseating Scott Tipton would be a considerable and long-awaited coup for the Colorado GOP, which has been in a circular firing squad since Governor Bill Owens left office.
I can’t see how the government’s actions here square with the Fifth Amendment: No person shall… be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. Business owners all across the country are being deprived of property in the sense that their businesses are being shuttered and their income cut off; there has been little if any “just compensation,” nor could government at all levels combine make “just compensation” for the billions of dollars lost by businesses like the Shooter’s Grill.
With no more time wasted camped in New Jersey, Mrs. Animal and I will have more weekend time in our own Colorado, and I will have more time to resume my role of being a semi-notorious local political gadfly and general pain in the ass to local pols. One of the things we need to do is drive to Rifle (a three hour or so drive) and offer our support in person to the Shooter’s Grill – holstered revolvers and all. I’m certain they will eventually re-open, and we’ll be there.
Political support in the form of bloviating on a blog is great, but support is best expressed in the form of currency. So that’s what we’ll do. We can’t vote for Mrs. Boebert for Congress, but we can support the Shooter’s Grill, and it’s past time we did so.
