Bar sues Kansas City over COVID curfew. Mayor’s answer: ‘We want people to be alive’
A River Market hockey bar is seeking a court order to undo a curfew for bars and restaurants that Kansas City announced just over two weeks ago to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
The city resumed business and gathering restrictions not seen since the early days of the pandemic this spring. Most of the surrounding counties, including Jackson County, issued similar rules. Among them: Bars and restaurants are required to close by 10 p.m.
Blue Line hockey bar, at Walnut Street and East Missouri Avenue, filed a petition in Jackson County Circuit Court on Tuesday, saying the orders are unlawful because they were issued through emergency authority by Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and County Executive Frank White rather than through the City Council and Jackson County Legislature.
Jackson County does not have jurisdiction over Blue Line as its order applies to areas of the county outside of Kansas City.
The petition asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order, undoing the curfew and allowing the bar to stay open until 3 a.m.
“Restaurants such as plaintiff’s have struggled through many of the orders and the COVID-19 epidemic in general with being asked to close entirely, to then being allowed to reopen through seating restrictions, causing loss of revenue to not only the business but income to plaintiff’s employees,” the petition says.
Lucas said that the bar’s claim is without merit and that courts in Missouri have repeatedly upheld restrictions issued to respond to the pandemic. He called both the legal arguments and typos in the petition, including misspelling his name, “sloppy.”
Kansas City’s rules are based on science, Lucas told The Star, adding that they are not the most restrictive in Missouri. Prior to the pandemic, he frequented restaurants, and he said he has friends in the business.
“To contend that we don’t care, we aren’t cognizant of it misses the mark entirely,” Lucas said. “However, we want people to be alive, we want people to be safe, and that’s why these orders exist.”
At a press conference announcing the restrictions, officials noted crowds were more likely to be inebriated and make poor decisions and fail to social distance late at night.
The petition says Blue Line believes in safety protocols, including requiring staff to wear masks, providing hand sanitizer and complying with the 50% capacity limit that has been placed on bars for months. At issue is the 10 p.m. curfew. The petition says the bar makes 40% of its monthly sales between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.
If it has to close at 10 p.m., the bar will be “forced to lay off staff for an indefinite period of time” or even shut down.
The curfew went into effect Nov. 20 along with a 50% capacity limit for restaurants to match that of bars. The city also barred indoor gatherings of more than 10 people unless approved by the Health Department.
The Blue Line also claimed restaurants and bars are being treated unfairly because stores and casinos don’t fall under the 10 p.m. curfew.
The sports bar is owned by Steve Stegall, who became a well known figure in 2018 when his wife was abruptly deported back to Mexico by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Neither Stegall nor his lawyer could be reached on Tuesday afternoon.
Stegall told KCMO-AM’s conservative talk radio host Pete Mundo on Tuesday that he had hoped to get more bars involved in the lawsuit, but none ultimately agreed. He said Kansas City bars are particularly struggling with a 10 p.m. curfew, as bars over in Johnson County are allowed to remain open until midnight. Jackson, Clay and Platte counties in Missouri and Wyandotte County in Kansas also have 10 p.m. curfews.
If nothing else, he would like to see more flexibility from City Hall. He noted that this Sunday’s 10 p.m. closure would mean patrons would have to leave before the end of the Kansas City Chiefs’ evening game against the Denver Broncos.
“We’re trying to get our hours extended because this 10 p.m. is really screwing everybody in Missouri,” he said. “Everybody’s going to Kansas. It’s killing everybody. I’ve talked to multiple bar owners. And it’s killing everybody.”
Many restaurants across the region fear a mass wave of closures this winter as they grapple with the raging virus and new restrictions from local governments. While operators would like to see fewer restrictions, there hasn’t been much appetite for legal challenges, said Bill Teel, executive director of the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association.
Teel had heard rumblings about the Blue Line’s suit but said the association had not been involved.
“Our membership would like to see things loosened up as soon as possible but we’re not contemplating a lawsuit right now,” he said. “I haven’t had any calls asking us to get involved.”
While the Blue Line has opposed city restrictions, it says it has so far followed and exceeded local safety requirements. Signage on the doors explicitly requires masks. Employees check customers’ temperatures. And even a much-hyped Thanksgiving eve party with a deejay and guest bartender warned that physical distancing and masking measures would be strictly enforced.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 5:23 PM.
