Jackson County files court petition for permanent closure of cafe defying mask order
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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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Jackson County officials filed court motions on Friday seeking the permanent closure of a Blue Springs cafe that has for weeks defied the county’s mask order, accusing its owner of “endangering the health, safety, and welfare of the community.”
Rae’s Cafe and owner Amanda Wohletz, the lawsuit alleges, are openly and directly failing to comply with the order aimed to curb the spread of COVID-19 through the community. Without court intervention, the cafe will continue to operate with flagrant disregard for the rules, county leaders contend.
The county also sought a temporary restraining order that would impose sanctions on anyone who tries to keep the business operating in violation of the public health order. It was swiftly granted by a Jackson County judge on Friday afternoon.
Wohletz could not be reached for comment in response to the filings. A call placed to the business on Friday afternoon went unanswered, and an email was not immediately returned.
For her part, Wohletz has maintained that she is operating within the bounds of the law. She told The Star during an interview last week that her restaurant was complying — saying she and all her workers are medically exempt — but the county was still trying to shut her down. She declined at the time to explain what medical conditions allowed her entire staff to be exempt.
Jackson County’s current mask order was first reinstated in early August as the highly-contagious delta variant drove up cases and hospitalizations. Everyone ages 5 and up is required to wear a face covering when visiting indoor public spaces, with some exceptions including medical exemptions or removing the masks while dining. Extension of the order was approved by county leaders on Aug. 30.
County officials say this is the first action taken to close a business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caleb Clifford, chief of staff for the Jackson County Executive’s Office, has said other businesses have followed the county rules and have “acted heroically despite the risks they face from the virus and non-compliant customers.”
“Despite numerous warnings and attempts by the county to work with the business’s owner, she has refused to take corrective action and has made it clear that she has no plans to do so,” Clifford said in an earlier statement.
But the cafe has continued to serve customers despite several warnings and sanctions already placed on the business. On Facebook, the cafe now refers to itself as a private club — a carve out that county leaders say is an illegitimate attempt to circumvent the rules.
The business has also launched a fundraising effort through the online platform GoFundMe to raise money for legal expenses. It had generated nearly $5,000 by Friday afternoon with a $15,000 goal.
Roughly a dozen people lined up outside the cafe on Friday morning — the day Wohletz was hand-delivered a closure order recently imposed by Jackson County Health Director Bridgette Shaffer. Wohletz accepted the paperwork and said thanks. As the courier walked away, Wohletz shrugged her shoulders, rolled her eyes and said: “That’s all they can do.”
Over recent weeks, since the county reinstated its mask order Aug. 6, inspectors were sent to the cafe after receiving complaints about disregarding the rules.
On Aug. 18, the business received a warning. Tickets were issued on Aug. 27 and Aug. 30. And the cafe’s food permit was revoked on Sept. 3.
County actions have apparently done little to dissuade the most loyal patrons from showing up. Among those in line for a bite on Friday was Jeff Quibell, of Independence, who waited outside the doors with a group of other Rae’s customers before the cafe opened at 8 a.m.
“I’m here to support Rae’s,” he said, calling the idea of wearing masks inside restaurants to curb the spread of COVID-19 “ridiculous.”
“I’ve been dining at this restaurant for ever since they opened in 2017,” he said. “And it’s clean, the service is great, the food is great. There’s absolutely no reason for the county to be shutting it down.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2021 at 4:44 PM.
