Fresno County bars are ordered closed, but confusion persists. Here’s why some are open
Two days after bars in Fresno County were ordered closed, confusion was spreading over just which bars that applied to and if the county would enforce it.
On Sunday, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered bars closed in seven counties, including Fresno, Tulare and Kings in the central San Joaquin Valley, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
Most bars in Fresno closed.
On Monday, TV stations KSEE (Channel 24) and KGPE (Channel 47) reported that county officials won’t enforce state demands for bar closures, citing Supervisor Nathan Magsig saying the county doesn’t have the resources to make sure bars are closing and will rely on voluntary compliance. A representative of his later clarified that the Sheriff’s Office wouldn’t be arresting or citing bar owners for being open.
But the county’s top health officer said during a news conference Tuesday that the closure order will be enforced.
Fresno County Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra said: “Our environmental health team is really going to be actively enforcing the bar closure.”
The department won’t be checking up on bars nightly, but will be contacting businesses if they’re not allowed to be open, and working with them to operate safely if they are allowed, Vohra said.
The goal is reduce community spread of coronavirus, which has reached 5,008 cases countywide and 73 deaths as of Tuesday.
“We really opened up a lot of different industries and our numbers just really started surging up,” Vohra said. “So now it’s time to take the lessons of that and see what we can adjust and tweak and hopefully we can get things back to a more controllable level to where the numbers don’t keep surging.”
Some bars closed, regardless of whether managers thought the county would enforce the order. The Hook & Ladder in Clovis, for example, noted on its Facebook page that bars have to follow state orders because the state oversees their liquor licenses.
“Our liquor license is a state license, and as such (California Alcoholic Beverage Control) has the right to enforce the mandatory closure. And believe me, they will,” the post said.
There are gray areas, but the county is trying to minimize loopholes, Vohra said.
“If their essential function is to serve as a bar, even if they serve food as just a side item, then they should go ahead and close, as well,” he said.
Why?
It’s OK to have a drink with your family during a meal because customers aren’t going to be lingering for long periods of time, said Public Health Director Dave Pomaville.
But the state is targeting activities that draw people together for long periods. At bars, people tend to mingle with others outside their household and talk louder, both of which can lead to spread of COVID-19.
Added Vohra: “At the same time, people are drinking and perhaps softening their judgment. You also have challenges with contact tracing and so it sort of makes sense to go ahead and close bars at this time.”
Bars open
So why are some bars still open?
Modernist, the cocktail bar in downtown Fresno, is open because it is serving sit-down, dine-in meals with its drinks.
The bar sells charcuterie boxes from Fig & Honey Lavish Grazing with two kinds of cheese, olives, meat, fruit, dried apricots, crackers and almonds, and boxed meals from Rappit Up.
Patrons must order the food in order to get a cocktail.
The Fresno County health order regarding bar closures and the state order specifically say that bars can contract with outside vendors to serve dine-in meals, provided the business follows social distancing guidelines and sells alcohol in the same transaction as food.
“It’s obvious that having some Beer Nuts available is not a meal,” Pomaville later told The Bee.
Out of the Barrel, a craft beer taproom in Fig Garden Village, also is open.
During the first round of closures, owner Evan Jaques said he realized restaurants could serve beer with food, so the business technically became a restaurant.
He spent more than $6,000 adding kitchen equipment and paying fees to change Out of the Barrel’s classification with the county’s public health department from a bar to a restaurant.
“We made that investment and they changed our license,” he said. “Now we’re operating as a restaurant instead of a bar. That’s why we were able to open up.”
The business now serves vegetarian empanadas made by an outside vendor, reheated on site and served with a chimichurri sauce. They plan to add German pretzels soon.
You do not have to buy the food to get a beer, he said.
The business also practices social distancing. The tables are spaced six feet apart and many customers opt for its outdoor patio. It does not have any seating at its bar.
Community spread
Transmission of coronavirus through community spread is growing in Fresno County, Vohra said. Almost 32% of reported cases are from community spread, compared to 36% from close contact with others infected with the disease (the rest are either still under investigation or from travel).
But there is no direct evidence in the cases Fresno County is investigating tying community spread to bars – though there is in other counties, Pomaville said. Health officials don’t expect a huge drop in coronavirus numbers because bars closed.
“Collectively, this in and of itself, is not going to change our statistics. It’s not,” Pomaville said. “This is an indicator that we’re not doing as well as we should be doing with regard to controlling the community spread.”
It’s the first step in dialing back the reopenings, he said. He hopes the closures will prompt people to be cautious and limit their interactions with people outside their households that lead to the spread of the disease, especially over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
This story was originally published June 30, 2020 at 5:26 PM.
