MURPHYSBORO, Ill. (WSIL) -- A local restaurant owner said he was put on notice for not complying with Governor Pritzker's new COVID-19 restrictions that ban indoor dining.
A representative from the Murphysboro restaurant said, an employee from the Jackson County Health Department told them they must end indoor dining or their food license would be revoked and they could be fined up to $500 everyday they are open.
The representative who spoke on behalf of Cindy's B Café tells News 3 they shutdown the first time, but this time, they have decided to stay open and fight for their right to remain open.
Jacob Heiple said an employee from the Jackson County Health Department came in Thursday afternoon and told them they received phones calls telling them that the café was not complying with Governor Pritzker's mandate.
Heiple said they told the employee from the health department that they want to continue with in-restaurant dining but the health department said that was unacceptable.
"We did the to-go orders, and you can't make enough money to pay the help, the food cost, it doesn't work. We will survive longer as a business by not being open than just doing curbside. So that's why we made a decision this time to say hey, we're going to lose it anyway, why not fight for it? We'll just run it to the end and then at the end of the day we can say we fought the good fight," said Heiple.
An employee from the Jackson County Department of Health said the department is in the first day of the new mandate and they will follow up with all complaints in a timely manner.
Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health said they hope to add new mitigation measures in effect in regions 7 and 8 Friday.
