These Fresno businesses were hit with fines for breaking COVID-19 orders
Six Fresno businesses have gotten the most recent $1,000 fines for operating against state coronavirus orders, according to records.
The tickets were issued between May 4 and Sept. 2 — and half went to salons that opened weeks before they were given permission under state orders. Some of those citations came as salon owners asked leaders to let them resume business.
In mid-August, salons and barbershops that were closed because of the response to the coronavirus were allowed to resume outdoor services but could not accept clients inside. Indoor services were allowed to resume Aug. 28.
Venus Nails & Spa on North Fort Washington Road and Salon Posh on North Van Ness Avenue were each cited for taking clients inside on Aug. 18 and Aug. 20, respectively, according to records.
Venus owner Eric Nguyen said he was ticketed unnecessarily, saying his crew was following the city’s orders. The shop operated outside and closed at about 1 p.m. the day they were cited, he said.
He said the salon was not open when code enforcement officers arrived around 2:30 p.m. and saw two employees providing services to elderly family members. It was a hot day so they took their family members inside.
“They were relatives. I didn’t charge them anything. They were family,” Nguyen said. “For me, it’s unfair. We didn’t get any help.”
The salon has had a rough go during the pandemic, which has trimmed his staff from 15 down to six, he said. At the same time, the landlord hasn’t given him any relief.
“Everybody needs to make money to eat,” Nguyen said. “It’s not right.”
Other Fresno business coronavirus citations
Milan Nails and Spa Too on North Sommerville Drive was cited for the same reason Aug. 26. An unidentified employee who answered the salon’s phone on Tuesday said the business was cited without explanation, receiving the ticket in the mail.
Gateway Ice Center on North Marks Avenue received a ticket Aug. 5 after a code enforcement officer witnessed a hockey practice on the ice, according to records.
The Camp Transformation Center was cited for hosting indoor exercise Sept. 5. While gyms could only operate outside, code enforcement workers watched patrons leaving the indoor gym on North Blackstone Avenue while not wearing masks, records show.
Another Blackstone business, Mariscos Costa Azul, was cited for Sept. 4 for selling alcohol without food as well as offering indoor service, records show.
Representatives of Gateway, Camp and Mariscos could not be immediately reached for comment.
Fresno cites ‘non-authorized’ businesses
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand ordered many 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 with safety guidelines required by orders from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The terms “essential” and “non-essential” became controversial to some residents, so city employees took to calling the closed businesses “non-authorized,” which is handwritten on the citations.
Code enforcement officers issued a seventh business a $250 fine for not social distancing. Warrior Fitness on North Cedar Avenue was operating outside on Sept. 2 when it got the ticket, records show.
That is not the first citation given to Warrior Fitness, which previously got a $1,000 fine on May 29 and $5,000 on June 3 for being open when the business was not authorized, records show.
The north Fresno gym owner allegedly tried to recruit people to act as lookouts so that classes could resume before they were allowed amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to city records obtained by The Fresno Bee.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 11:14 AM.
