Several Fresno businesses fined for lack of social distancing and mask violations
Five Fresno businesses were fined in April, May and June for not following orders on coronavirus safety measures as the city allowed shops to rejoin the economy.
Code enforcement officers wrote $250 citations to Doghouse Grill, Clawson Motorsports, the WinCo on Shaw Avenue and two Walmarts — the locations on Shaw Avenue and Ingram Avenue.
The code enforcement division received 522 complaints through the first week of June for a lack of social distancing in stores and eateries in Fresno, according to records. The officers spoke to employees at 396 stores to inform them they were not following the guidelines.
For the five businesses that were fined, officers saw customers not wearing masks inside and a lack of social distancing, the records show. Some employees were not wearing masks, either.
Angry customers
Clawson Motorsports general manager Mike Stovall said he’s been trying to comply with the ordinance, but many customers are angry about wearing masks.
“I actually agree with the ordinance and we were at fault,” he said on the phone while wearing a mask himself. “We have had failures with the team. I discussed it with them.”
Business has been brisk since Clawson reopened, Stovall said.
“After not doing business at all during the corona impact, I got to keep the doors open,” he said. “There’s got to be a balance.”
But it’s not the employees that are hard to convince while the shop that sells motorcycles, watercraft and other recreational vehicles is busy during the summer. Asking shoppers to put on a mask as they walk in the door is met with anger most of the time, Stovall said.
“The city decided all of this without taking into consideration the relationships that are lost when we try to enforce their order,” Stovall said.
None of the other businesses’ representatives were immediately available for comment.
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand ordered businesses to close that were not considered essential on March 18 to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. He lifted the order on May 26 and began to allow some shops to open.
Grocery stores were allowed to remain open the whole time if they followed distancing and mask guidelines and restaurants could sell food curbside.
Councilmember chimes in
Councilmember Mike Karbassi said he asked the City Attorney’s Office to use discretion and be lenient on shops that had violated city orders if it was a misunderstanding or honest mistake.
“Ultimately, the goal of code enforcement is compliance,” he said.
Code enforcement officers have also written citations to businesses accused of price gouging and for violating the city’s order to not serve food indoors.
The city of Fresno issued its first $10,000 administrative fine March 19 to Super Liquor in the Figarden Loop for selling a 24-pack of bottled water for $16, according to officials.
The pack of Aquafina water normally goes for $3.99 and Dasani water costs $4.99, according to city staffers. The store’s owner denied any wrongdoing before hiring an attorney to fight the fine.
The Waffle Shop on Figarden Drive closed May 11 because the owner said he would not be able to absorb another fine — this time a $10,000 fine — for serving food indoors. He had been fined $5,000 the day prior, and $1,000 three days earlier.
The shop became a battleground between people who wanted to reopen businesses and city officials trying to keep COVID-19 from spreading.
The shop was the scene of a clash between a police officer and a line of people waiting to get inside. A man was detained for allegedly pushing an officer but he has not been charged.
