Fresno restaurants, closed by pandemic, still paid fees. Gov. Newsom should refund them

A recent survey by the California Restaurant Association found that only 41% of restaurants could remain open if they were limited to half their normal amount of customers — a reality brought on by the coronavirus pandemic and California’s response to it.

Restaurant closures are becoming more commonplace as the pandemic drags on.

The Rocket Dog Gourmet Brats and Brews in Clovis closed Oct. 25 as a result of limitations forced by the pandemic. Its large indoor seating area had to stay empty due to the restrictions, and it did not have enough patio space to make outdoor dining work.

On Friday the Downtown Deli and Market in Fresno was set to close. It opened on March 27, when the pandemic was starting. With downtown employers keeping many of their workers at home for safety — the customers the deli aimed to serve — the challenge proved too great.

Chuck Van Fleet operates Vino Grille & Spirits, a restaurant in northeast Fresno. Along with having no customers in the first months of COVID-19 restrictions to now doing only outdoor seating, Van Fleet had to spend $10,000 on annual licenses and permits required by the state.

“We are being assessed fees and not being able to be open,” Van Fleet said.

That’s more than a contradiction — that is just wrong. Gov. Gavin Newsom should direct state regulators to refund those fees to the restaurants that have paid them.

Otherwise, a judge may require just that.

Lawsuit in the wings

Late last month a Los Angeles law firm filed formal claims in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Sacramento and Monterey counties to recover the fees. Similar claims will soon be filed in Fresno, San Francisco and Placer counties. In fact, the Fresno County claim is to be filed by early next week, with Vino Grille as the plaintiff.

Claims have also been brought against the state agencies that oversee tourism assessments and alcoholic beverage licenses.

The claims are first steps before a suit can be brought. The state has 45 days to respond. Otherwise, a class-action lawsuit will be the result.

“This is fundamentally about fairness,” said Brian S. Kabateck, the Los Angeles lawyer whose firm is representing the restaurants. “They are not asking for a handout, they are not asking for the governor to rescind the orders for closure. They protected the public, and we have gone along with the process. So let’s just be fair and give back the money the government did not earn.”

He noted that he has not heard from any government official since the first claims were filed, save one: The county counsel for Fresno County, who wants to try to work out a solution for local eateries.

Kabateck said an estimate of how much the permits and fees annually cost restaurants statewide is $100 million. While the amounts per restaurant are usually under $10,000 a year, at this moment that can be the difference between staying open, laying off workers or even closing.

Here’s a solution

Newsom would earn himself some goodwill by throwing a lifeline to restaurants in the form of returned fees.

It makes no sense for counties and the state to collect fees from closed or reduced businesses. The harm to them individually adds up to greater hurt for the state’s economy overall.

Call it a rebate due to the pandemic; the point is to help restaurants any way possible.

As a restaurant owner himself, it’s something Newsom should well understand. He has called his San Francisco restaurants “my babies, my life, my family.” Chuck Van Fleet and the owners of Rocket Dog and Downtown Deli would heartily agree.