As winter weather descends on St. Louis, diners at Helen Fitzgerald’s Irish Grill and Pub are slowing to a trickle. That’s because COVID-19 rules restrict the restaurant to curbside pickup and outdoor meal service, according to Josh Syberg, assistant general manager at the South Lindbergh Boulevard eatery.
“People are not coming to our restaurant because it's 45 degrees outside and not many people want to dine outside in the cold weather,” he said.
So far, Syberg said the restaurant has avoided laying off workers.
“Their hours have been cut to a certain extent and we’re just trying to get everyone enough money to live,” Syberg told the St. Louis Record. “The government hasn't stepped up so we've been giving everyone an equal amount of hours but the sales for servicing need to be there.”
Helen Fitzgerald's Irish Grill and Pub is among some 40 St. Louis County restaurants that have filed a lawsuit over a new COVID-19 shutdown ordered by County Executive Sam Page and Emily Doucette, acting director, and chief medical officer of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health.
“We thought it was unconstitutional that Sam Page made the decision himself when the Executive Council should be doing a nine-person vote, not a one-person vote,” Syberg said in an interview.
On November 12, a Safer at Home Order, which makes indoor dining illegal, was signed and issued by Doucette.
“Doucette states in the order that restaurants in violation face criminal penalties, civil penalties, and even forced closure,” Attorney Timothy Belz stated in the complaint on behalf of the plaintiff restaurants.
Doucette, Page and Saint Louis County were named as defendants in the lawsuit.
“We realize there's a pandemic going on,” Syberg said. “When you ask for weeks for evidence from Sam Page and the health director and for them to turn their backs and dodge you at all costs because they don’t have any, it seems like they're shooting from the hip.”
The restrictions are in response to a spike in the number of coronavirus cases, according to media reports.
As of Nov. 27, there were 12,211 coronavirus cases and 238 deaths statewide, according to the state coronavirus dashboard.
Other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the Missouri Restaurant Association, Bartolino's, The Cross Restaurant, Citizen Kane’s Steakhouse, Syberg's Eating and Drinking Company, and the Shack Restaurant Group.