Name: Wickenburg police order restaurants defying state order to clear their dining rooms of customers
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Wickenburg police order restaurants defying state order to clear their dining rooms of customers

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Get the newsShare This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutPolice visited two downtown restaurants in Wickenburg and told the owners to clear the dining rooms.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to register before adding a comment.Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.Please be polite.It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.If you see comments in violation of our , please report them.CLOSEDeb Thompson, owner of Horseshoe Cafe in Wickenburg, reopened her restaurant for dine-in, defying Gov. Doug Ducey's statewide executive order.Police officers in Wickenburg, armed with copies of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive order, entered two downtown restaurants that opened for breakfast on Friday and told the managers that they would have to clear the dining rooms of customers.After officers left,&nbsp;the restaurants, Horseshoe Cafe and Bedoin's Bakery and Cafe, did not comply and as of mid-morning Friday were still allowing customers to eat inside.&nbsp;&nbsp;Deb Thompson, the owner of the Horseshoe Cafe, said she told the officer, whom she knew and regarded as a friend, that she would not revert back to a carry-out only restaurant.“I told them I refused to close,” she said, standing in her dining room afterwards, clutching the executive order and wearing a T-shirt featuring the face and name of President Donald Trump. “I’m not going to comply.”Thompson, who was brought to tears by the officers’ visit, said she did not want to accept government assistance to support her business and employees.For more stories that matter:&nbsp;“I just want to work and earn my own money,” she said. “I don’t believe in depending on other people to help me out. I’m old school.”Thompson, standing in her Horseshoe Café dining room, said she thought the officer would return and, this time, make an arrest.Thompson had planned to officially open at 6 a.m. on Friday, but some people jumped the gun and started taking seats as early as 5:30 a.m.Thompson&nbsp;exchanged hugs and kisses with regular customers who told her they were excited to be able to sit inside and enjoy a meal again.At Bedoian's Bakery and Bistro next door,&nbsp;several tables carried signs marking them as “reserved” in an effort to maintain social distancing among dine-in customers.Kristy Bedoian, who is also a&nbsp;member of the Wickenburg Town Council, said the bakery was being careful in how it operated.Bedoian said she wished the governor had taken a more nuanced approach with his orders that considered the variation in circumstances in communities across Arizona.Bedoian said she and others&nbsp;were willing to “bite the bullet” and comply with dine-in closures when it was only expected to be a short-term situation, but that extending those orders to well past a month was beyond reason.“Nobody likes a bad virus, nobody likes a bad flu, nobody likes death period," she said. "But sometimes that’s life and there’s some things that are more important than life," she added."What we do for the future and for our children and our grandchildren, that’s more important. Posterity is important."She disagrees with people who believe she’s putting money ahead of humanity, saying she’s “not telling anybody if they’re fearful to go out.”Bedoian said the bakery only did about 25% of the business it normally does throughout the time it was closed to dine-in customers, and said that a travel business she also has in town ha&nbsp;$300,000 in cancellations within the first week of the shutdown.Bedoian, as a member of the town council, said she believes she is standing up for her and her constituent’s constitutional rights&nbsp;and that the bakery has been in touch with a lawyer.The owner of Trader J’s, a Southwestern gift store, told the Republic that officers visited there as well.Officers, before leaving, had not escorted customers&nbsp;out of the buildings.Wickenburg police did not return a request for comment on Friday morning.A string of additional businesses also planned to open on Friday,&nbsp;said Nohl Rosen, the owner of a computer repair business who organized the coordinated reopening of the businesses through his Patriots of Wickenburg group.&nbsp;Of those, an antique store called Gina’s Place, and Cody’s Salon appeared closed on Friday. Lydia’s La Canasta restaurant was open and an employee said at around 1 p.m. it had not yet been visited by police.Among the customers dining at the Horseshoe Cafe on Friday morning, before police arrived, was&nbsp;74-year-old Daniel Beaulieu, who said he had traveled 60 miles from Peoria to support Thompson's decision to re-open her cafe.&nbsp;Beaulieu said he generally rides his motorcycle to Wickenburg about once a week but said he hasn’t been to the town for about a month since businesses began closing.Beaulieu said he was “very happy” to return on Friday morning, saying that those who are concerned about the virus spreading because of open businesses should simply remain in place.&nbsp;“If you’re fearful, stay home, if you’re sick, stay home,” he said.&nbsp;“We’re Americans, for one thing, and we don’t like the government telling us what to do. It’s always been that way."Beaulieu said he’s heard people call those with his beliefs “selfish,” but said he doesn’t believe that to be the case.Thompson said she believes “there is no risk” in reopening Wickenburg businesses, adding that her employees constantly wash their hands and her dishes are washed in 180-degree temperature.She added that each of her employees has tested negative for the virus and that she doesn’t allow anyone to work if they have a fever or are not feeling well.Thompson said her café had offered take-out for the past few weeks, but had lost 90% of its business since the shut down. She said she prepared all the meals herself, not having enough money to keep her staff employed.Rosen had invited state lawmakers to attend a flag-waving rally at 8 a.m. to celebrate the reopening of the city. But, he said, none showed up.Rosen, in a Facebook video posted at about 10:30 a.m. Friday, urged people to come to Wickenburg and support the businesses.“We need a lot of patriots up here right now,” he said, “in case our celebration turns into a protest.”As a service, we are offering coverage related to public safety free of charge. If you want to support local journalism, .MORE RESOURCES: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-health/2020/05/01/two-arizona-restaurants-opened-their-doors-visited-police/3066811001/to help improve our site experience!More Stories

Get the newsShare This Story!Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutPolice visited two downtown restaurants in Wickenburg and told the owners to clear the dining rooms.A link has been sent to your friend's email address.A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the ConversationTo find out more about Facebook commenting please read theWelcome to our new and improved comments.This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.You will need to register before adding a comment.Typed comments...

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BrieAnna J. Frank

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Wickenburg police order restaurants defying state order to clear their dining rooms of customers

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