The state Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) has issued a fine of $67,473 against Spiffy’s. The Napavine restaurant continues to draw statewide attention for violating Gov. Jay Inslee’s restrictions meant to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic that’s killed nearly 3,000 Washingtonians.
The fine includes $9,639 for each day Spiffy’s continued to offer indoor dining after L&I employees told them to stop — a confrontation that spurred days of armed protests last week. The fine was issued Monday, in addition to an “order and notice of immediate restraint,” which in layman terms, tells a business that “you have to come under compliance right now,” according to L&I spokesperson Tim Church. L&I has issued similar notices to other businesses, including Olympia’s Farm Boy Drive-in. The notices come with the threat of criminal penalties, as L&I can get a court order, at which point businesses may face criminal charges not from L&I but from superior court.
The fines will continue to accrue until Spiffy’s comes into compliance. As of Tuesday afternoon, the restaurant was still open for indoor dining.
Meanwhile, it’s becoming increasingly clear that local law enforcement is unwilling to enforce COVID-19 restrictions.
“We continue to put restrictions on, and we try to use law enforcement to shut them down, and it’s not going to happen,” Lewis County Sheriff Rob Snaza said Tuesday. He said the Sheriff’s Office will review complaints on a case-by-case basis, and may enforce COVID-19 restrictions, “but those will be few and far between. … Sometimes we all need to stand up for what is right … when we’re taking away people’s civil liberties, their first amendment rights, and saying you can’t go to church anymore, you can’t go eat somewhere because of this, which is 99.8 percent recoverable, where do we stop?” he said.
Snaza went on to ask County Commissioners for their support, although last week Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer warned them that Spiffy’s and the city of Mossyrock, which declared it “will not recognize” new COVID-19 restrictions, could make the county look bad and ultimately undermine long-term reopening efforts, especially if the county needs the governor’s approval to move through another phased approach to reopening.
Snaza and Meyer also sent a letter to Inslee last week requesting that the state take on enforcement efforts, claiming local law enforcement hasn’t been provided proper guidance and is preoccupied by other pandemic-related issues.
“Enforcement is just going to have to take the back seat, because as we said, we just don’t have the resources to do it all,” County Manager Erik Martin said Monday.
In a press conference Tuesday, Inslee largely answered the question of whether the state would ramp up enforcement measures. When asked about Spiffy’s, Inslee told reporters “there will be, unfortunately, some enforcement action necessary.”
“The enforcement mechanisms will be significant,” he added, noting that the majority of businesses are complying with restrictions. “For those business owners breaking the law, which they’re doing by staying open, you should have to answer to your fellow business owners, who you are jeopardizing in a sense, and being very unfair to.”
Inslee also announced that current pandemic restrictions on businesses and gatherings will be extended until Jan. 4. That could exacerbate existing frustrations and rebellion in Lewis County, as Snaza alluded to just minutes before Inslee’s live broadcast.
“I hope and pray he does not put further restrictions on through Christmas, because that would be a fallacy if he thinks something like that is going to happen in Lewis County,” Snaza said.
When asked if the state patrol would step in to assist L&I in their response to local businesses willfully defying restrictions, Church wouldn’t say if the agency had immediate plans.
“But I can tell you it’s not uncommon for us to work with state patrol or the governor’s office. That wouldn't be unusual,” he said.
When The Chronicle reached out to Spiffy’s owner Rod Samuelson again this week, he expressed frustration that news coverage of his restaurant included information from public officials.
“You guys bring in health departments and governors and the L&I and all this stuff. And when I gave you the right to write an article on Spiffy’s I don’t want all that stuff in there,” he said Monday.
Samuelson did talk with Dori Monson on Kiro Radio Tuesday, saying he would take the issue to court.
“They can try, I suppose, but I’m not going to pay it,” he said, about the fines.
