When your favorite Clovis restaurant breaks COVID-19 rules, is it time to eat elsewhere?
Recently I had a serious craving for a cheeseburger.
Not just any cheeseburger. Besides the requisite meat (half-pound Angus beef) and cheese (cheddar), the one I craved comes with caramelized onions, sauteed mushrooms and bacon topped with barbecue sauce and served on a grilled brioche bun.
Where does one find such a delectable creation? At House of Juju in Old Town Clovis. It’s called the Calamity Jane.
Since discovering the place by accident six years ago (at its former, tucked-away location), House of Juju has become my favorite Clovis restaurant and the Calamity Jane my go-to order. Served with roasted red potatoes and washed down with a draught IPA, it’s the perfect combo on those evenings when calories take a backseat to comfort.
Calamity Jane and I used to be fairly regular dining partners. But when COVID-19 hit, a lot changed. I began cooking almost every meal at home, and we fell out of touch.
Will things return to normal now that Fresno County has gone from purple to red, giving local restaurants the green light to resume indoor dining at 25% capacity?
Perhaps in time. But not right away.
If I’m being totally honest, home cooking wasn’t the only reason my visits to House of Juju all but stopped. Actions of the restaurant’s owners (husband and wife Scott and Julie Glenn; plus son Justin Glenn, who runs the place) also gave me pause.
First came the $1,000 fine in July for violating public health orders that prohibited indoor dining. Contrite? Not exactly. Rather than give in to demands of the state bureau of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the Glenns relinquished their beer and wine license and continued thumbing their nose at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus restrictions.
Julie Glenn emerged as one of the primary voices behind the movement to reopen Fresno County businesses on Oct. 1, red tier or not. In a video I saw on Facebook, Julie Glenn told a group of fellow business owners her actions were emboldened by the assurance Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp would not press criminal charges for indoor dining.
The whole thing made me a little uneasy. News coverage of the Sept. 21 rally at City Hall didn’t show much evidence of masks or social distancing. If those health measures are being ignored and scoffed at in public, there’s not much reassurance they’re being followed in private. Is there?
Cheeseburger & a sit down
It became a personal culinary dilemma: What does one do when the owners of your favorite purveyors of comfort food adopt a stance that makes you uncomfortable?
If you’re me, you text Julie Glenn and ask to meet. Then head over to House of Juju, order a Calamity Jane — to go — and enjoy it at an outdoor table before sitting down with the Glenns for a conversation that stretches two hours.
“This is all new to us,” Julie Glenn says of the attention she and House of Juju have received during the pandemic. “We’re not the slightest bit political.”
Julie and Scott tell me their actions are less about defying Newsom and more about standing up for their rights as business owners and those of their customers, some of whom (due to age or medical concerns) can’t dine outdoors in triple-digit heat or when the air is unhealthy to breathe.
Nor are they COVID-19 deniers — although the Glenns do doubt the accuracy of reported cases and fatalities and question the science behind some restrictions. They have friends who’ve gotten sick from the virus and know of people who’ve died. And while they’ve gone against some health protocols, others are being followed.
For example, social distancing. The restaurant’s tables, both inside and on two outdoor patios, are spaced out enough to provide more than the requisite 6 feet. Staff members all wore masks, and one of them went around disinfecting door handles and other high-touch areas. There can be no qualms about cleanliness.
Business halved during pandemic
House of Juju is a true family business — four of Julie and Scott’s eight biological and adopted children work at the restaurant. (The Glenns also longtime foster parents.) Early during the pandemic, employees took an anonymous vote on whether to stay open.
“Almost everyone wanted to continue,” Julie Glenn said, “and no one’s job was held over their head.”
Despite offering limited indoor seating, the Glenns say business is down more than half. Giving up alcohol sales certainly didn’t help. But they bristle against the notion they’re being selfish, irresponsible or placing profits before people.
“This is not about the money for us,” Scott Glenn said in response to social media criticism the couple has endured. “We’re people pleasers. We want to put a smile on peoples’ faces. We want to be part of peoples’ lives.”
I have empathy for those who’ve built successful small businesses only to see them crippled by the pandemic. But I also believe in science and data. Coronavirus isn’t suddenly going to disappear, which is why we should still be staying home as much as possible, minimizing social gatherings and wearing masks.
Just because we can dine inside our favorite restaurants again doesn’t mean we should. Nor does it mean we shouldn’t. Ultimately, that decision is up to each one of us — with the knowledge that our actions as individuals impact the community as a whole.
Meaning I’ll be ordering my Calamity Jane to go, or to be eaten outside, for the time being. Still tastes just as good.
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 1:34 PM.
