Can a Blue Springs restaurant evade mask mandate as a private club? No, officials say
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Rae’s Cafe vs mask mandate
Jackson County Health Department officials have issued an order to close a Blue Springs cafe that has been ignoring the county’s mask requirement. The owner of the restaurant has said she will not follow the rule.
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A Blue Springs restaurant at odds with the health department has said it will evade the county mask mandate by operating as a private club.
But that’s not an option, county officials said.
Jackson County doesn’t have classifications for private or public clubs, and the owners of a Blue Springs restaurant would still have to comply with the county’s 30-day mask requirement.
Jackson County health officials on Thursday ordered the restaurant Rae’s Cafe closed for repeated violations. County officials sent a letter to owner Amanda Wohletz because she continued operating despite a directive from the Jackson County Environmental Health Department to close last Friday.
Officials also said they are seeking legal action to ensure the restaurant remains closed by court order after health inspectors revoked its permit to serve food.
Inspectors deemed the restaurant, located in a strip center along Missouri 7, an “imminent health hazard” after it received and verified multiple complaints for not complying to the county’s health order.
Health department officials posted a sign on the restaurant’s door last Friday morning stating that health officials had closed the restaurant for “causing a significant threat to the health and safety of patrons.”
But Wohletz refused to close her doors.
“I have been advised that the business you operate .... (is) a place of public accommodation, has been the site of continued violations of the Jackson County Health Order dated August 6, 2021, requiring individuals in an indoor place of public accommodation to wear face coverings or masks,” county health director Bridgette Shaffer said in a letter.
“Violation of this order constitutes an imminent threat and menace to public health, constitutes a public nuisance, and is punishable by fine, imprisonment or other remedies available under law,” Shaffer said.
The county had received three complaints about Wohletz violating the mask requirement.
Missouri law gives the county’s health director authority to close a business or private assembly in order to protect public health, according to county officials.
No private club designation
County officials said they are seeking a court order against Rae’s Cafe after its owner continued operating despite a directive from the Jackson County Environmental Health Department to close down.
Wohletz told The Star last week that the restaurant wasn’t violating the health order. She couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Thursday.
Wohletz also has reportedly told other news media that her restaurant is a private club and exempt from the requirement.
Caleb Clifford, chief of staff for County Executive Frank White Jr. said that is not the case.
“The health order applies to Rae’s Cafe the same as it did when it was first issued as it does today, regardless of any of their statements regarding it being a private club,” Clifford said.
Business owners who fail to comply to the mask requirement could be issued a ticket, be ordered to pay a monetary fine or be sentenced the county detention center. A county judge may also impose other remedies to ensure the violator complies with the county mask requirement.
The health department may also issue a closure notice if businesses do not follow the mandate.
“We are confident that this health order applies to this business. And they are in violation,” Clifford said.
Restaurant ordered closed
Last Friday, county health officials posted a sign on the door of Rae’s Cafe that said they closed the restaurant for “causing a significant threat to the health and safety of patrons.”
The county’s health order applies to federal public accommodations requirements. For example, the mask order doesn’t apply to private residences.
However, a business the general public can easily enter is required to comply with federal public accommodation requirements. That’s similar to a nightclub charging a $1 cover charge. Nightclubs still have to follow the Americans with Disabilities Act, Clifford said.
The 30-day order went into effect on Aug. 9, issued by County Executive Frank White Jr. and the county’s health director. Two weeks ago, the Jackson County Legislature voted 6-3 to extend the county’s mask order through Oct. 7.
The order falls in line with a Missouri law that restricts mask requirements to 30 days, with the option to renew with a vote.
It requires anyone older than 5-years-old, regardless of their vaccination status, to wear a mask while they are inside public spaces, including restaurants or other businesses. The directive applies to those municipalities outside of Kansas City and Independence, which have their own health departments.
Masking is required in indoor public spaces, such as restaurants and other businesses, whenever persons are not eating or drinking, according to county officials.
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 6:53 PM.
