Oct 22, 2020 6 min read

ALLENPORT – Bar and restaurant owners say they’re struggling to enforce all of Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 restrictions at their establishments, especially the guidelines requiring customers to wear face masks whenever they’re not seated.

Earlier this month, the Allenport Marina was shut down for two weeks for multiple violations alleged by the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement.

Investigators said workers at the restaurant in Allenport were first warned of unspecified violations Sept. 20, but continued to disregard guidelines following multiple visits by officers. The restaurant was shut down Oct. 5 until it was permitted to reopen Tuesday night.

Henry Robbins, the president of HMR Communications Inc., which owns the restaurant, said he received a warning letter in September reciting general COVID-19 rules and guidelines.

“And I thought we were doing that,” he said Wednesday. “I thought we were doing everything right.”

They moved tables apart and added more tables to act as buffers to promote physical distancing between customers. But what he was unclear on was the requirement for masks to be work by customers who were moving around the restaurant’s outdoor deck, which is the primary location for the eatery’s seating area.

“Being an outside venue, I didn’t think we had to require the masks, but I guess I was wrong,” he said.

Robbins said business was slow when it reopened Tuesday night because customers thought the restaurant was still closed. The location has resumed its normal operating hours, but has lost revenue due to the pandemic, along with a civic club that is no longer meeting there. Robbins is also worried about how the winter months will impact the business with its small indoor dining room.

“It’s going to be tough, I’m sure. Our business is way down because of this,” he said. “That two-week closure really destroyed our rhythm.”

Elsewhere in Washington County, SNPJ Lodge 89 near Midway was cited for serving customers who were seated at the bar, while Mousetrap Bar & Grill in Robinson Township was cited for an employee not wearing a face mask. Dale’s Place in Smithton, the Stone House Inn located near Farmington and Live Wire Reloaded near McClellandtown were among those in the region also cited for the face mask violations.

No fines have been listed for any of those establishments as of Wednesday, according to the PLCB regulatory website.

Those were among the 14 citations filed by state police in the six-county Pittsburgh region for COVID-19 guidelines violations in September, all of which involved either face masks, bar seating or both. Last month, the bureau received 291 complaints in the region and issued 89 warnings and 29 violations, although not all involved COVID-19 restrictions.

Danny Fehl, who owns the Mousetrap with his brother, Thomas, said the numerous guidelines coupled with the loss of business during the pandemic is pushing them to consider selling their restaurant.

“We are trying the hardest we can to keep in business and they keep beating us down,” Fehl said.

He said his violation was because a bartender had a mask below her nose, and a cook, who was working alone in a closed-off kitchen, was not wearing a mask. He said state police warned them about the initial issues through a phone call, which made him wonder if it was legitimate. Fehl said he has written a letter to liquor control enforcement explaining what they’re doing to rectify the problem, although he has not been fined yet.

Some customers who walk in not wearing a mask are “hostile” when staff tells them about the guidelines, Fehl said, making for a stressful work environment. Employees must wear their masks at all times, while customers are required to wear masks when entering and exiting the restaurant, or when walking to the rest room.

“A lot of people are rude to you,” he said. “How do you tell them to put their mask on? A lot of them will walk away. What do you do? Throw them out? I don’t know how to enforce it and do it the right way.”

Robbins agreed that it’s been a struggle to get customers to comply with the face mask order.

“It’s extremely hard. Some of them just refuse,” Robbins said of problems he’s witnessed at the Allenport Marina. “It’s hard to tell them they have to if they’re yelling at you, ‘I’m not wearing this mask. I’m not doing this.’ You just have to tell them they have to leave.”

State police liquor control enforcement officers are typically tipped off about COVID-19 violations through anonymous customers, an official with the bureau said. The officers then will inspect the property and issue a warning if they find a problem. After that, a citation will be sent, and monetary fines can vary for different violations.

If those issues persist, the officers can temporarily suspend the establishment’s liquor license, which occurred with the Allenport Marina.

But the rules are still in flux. The state House of Representatives attempted to override Wolf’s veto of a bill that would have increased capacity, allowed breweries to sell beer without food service and permitted restaurants and bars to serve drinks across the bar. However, that attempt late Tuesday night fell one vote shy of overriding the veto.

Lyndsay Kensinger, a spokeswoman for the governor, said it was “unfortunate that House Republicans would be pushing now to loosen safety measures” while COVID-19 cases are on the rise.

“In Pennsylvania and across the nation, restaurants and bars have been identified as a significant source of COVID-19 transmission. This is even with safety measures in place,” she said in a written statement. “The CDC also recently released research that indicates visits to bars and restaurants can be the catalyst for the spread of COVID.”

However, Wolf is planning to announce “a new plan” for bars and restaurants during a press conference Thursday in Pittsburgh. No details were released late Wednesday night on what changes or “additional support” would be offered to eateries and watering holes in the state.

The current guidelines are confusing, according to Fehl, who said his staff is struggling to explain to customers that they cannot order drinks at the bar, or whether they’re even permitted to stand next to it while picking up takeout orders.

Meanwhile, Robbins wants the state police and governor’s office to be clearer with their expectations and how they work with businesses to correct problems.

“There’s some clarification needed on all of this,” he said.

Both are hopeful the Pennsylvania Licensed Beverage and Tavern Association, a lobbying group working on behalf of restaurants and bars, will be able to work with state legislators and Wolf to find a solution to the problems they’re facing with the current restrictions.

“It is almost impossible to stick to the guidelines,” said Fehl, who has owned the Mousetrap restaurant with his family for 29 years. “It’s stressful. I’m ready to give it up.”