Fresno restaurant owner sees his open-air dining as safe. He says city, county don’t agree
The owner of Pismo’s Coastal Grill believes he is being targeted by Fresno city and county officials over what qualifies as outdoor or open-air dining and is allowed amid a coronavirus surge.
David Fansler announced on Facebook on Friday that a city attorney arrived at his restaurant with a “written letter” threatening him with criminal prosecution, fines and loss of business license and conditional use permit for Pismo’s and his Westwood’s BBQ & Spice Co., both in River Park.
The issue, he says: Local officials dispute that his business, despite its large, open windows, should be considered an outdoor or at least an “open-air” restaurant.
It’s an important distinction, after California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ordered coronavirus-stressed counties — including Fresno, Tulare and Kings — to halt indoor dining at restaurants and allow only outdoor seating, takeout and delivery.
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“We’ve spent a lot of time making this safe for them,” Fansler said, pointing out the measures he had taken to maximize airflow. “How can you say this isn’t an open-air restaurant?”
In his Facebook post, he said he attempted to make his case to local health officials. On Saturday, he reiterated his belief that his business is doing more to meet the spirit of the coronavirus rules than even some truly outdoor setups.
“You go to the Elbow Room, go to FIVE, go to Campagnia,” Fansler said. “This is about what it is. Go over to Lazy Dog, they have their patio wrapped up in plastic, which doesn’t even make sense. That’s like an enclosed building.”
City spokesman Mark Standriff, reached via text late Saturday, released a statement that said a complaint triggered the local response.
“The city received a complaint from a resident that Mr. Fansler’s restaurant was operating outside current state and county health and safety guidelines that prohibit indoor dining,” the statement read. “He received a standard notice from Code Enforcement as a warning that continued violations could result in penalties; however, our understanding is that no fine was issued to Mr. Fansler at this time.”
Fansler claims the city “is targeting me” and it’s “complete discrimination.”
He said code enforcement was inside his Pismo’s restaurant twice. Late Friday, he said, at 10 p.m., five agents (from the California Alcoholic Beverage Control) walked in, “waiting for me to leave so they can serve a misdemeanor notice to a manager.”
“This is harassment,” he said.
The city, in its statement, said it is “happy to work with any restaurant with a legitimate request for an outdoor dining permit to expand their footprint onto sidewalks, patios, parking spaces and other areas outside their business, and are ready to help expedite those requests during this pandemic.”
This was not the first time Fansler has found fault with the government’s strategy to fight the spread of COVID-19 when it comes to restaurants, which were first closed in March except for deliveries.
Earlier in the week, Fansler expressed his frustration with how Newsom seemed to single out restaurants, but not other businesses that draw large numbers of customers such as Costco or Walmart.
Health experts argue the risk of spreading the coronavirus is higher at restaurants and, to a greater extent, bars because people typically spend more time sitting down to eat or drink than they do shopping in a store.
Restaurant patrons also have to remove or pull down masks to eat and drink, even in those cases where face covering rules are imposed and enforced.
At Pismo’s, Fansler took steps before reopening to help boost safety. He cut the number of tables in use, allowed time for tables and chairs to be disinfected in between customers, ordered face shields for servers and offered disposable menus and condiments.
Throwing open the windows is another step.
“We have 84 linear feet of window,” he said. “I mean very few patios in the city even have that much. We just keep them open all day long and we keep the air conditioning on, but this air is turning over in this whole building every 3 to 4 minutes.
“It’s very safe. I mean this is the outside right here,” he added as he pointed toward an open window. “How can they say that? It’s ridiculous.”
This story was originally published July 4, 2020 at 8:43 PM.
