photo by: Lauren Fox

Rick Renfro, owner of Johnny's Tavern, is pictured at his establishment in North Lawrence on Sept. 4.

A new health order that places a curfew on Lawrence establishments with a liquor license will affect Rick Renfro both financially and emotionally, the Johnny’s Tavern owner said.

He’s not looking forward to having to explain to people next Thursday night during the Chiefs’ home opener that he can’t serve them alcohol after 9 p.m., and that he will have to get everyone out by 10 p.m.

But those are the regulations put into effect Friday by a public health order from Douglas County’s health officer, Dr. Thomas Marcellino.

Renfro emphasized that the health of the community is of the utmost importance, and that it’s hard to figure out the right answer during these confusing times. But he believes there could be a better process to figure out ways to socialize safely. He said the owners of bars and restaurants in Lawrence are a “professional group” that are all concerned about the community’s health.

“We think we can help teach people how to socialize in this new world with new health precautions,” he said.

The new health order was issued in part because an earlier public health order on bars was unclear. That order, which was intended to close bars in Douglas County, was issued in early July, but recently “leaders acknowledged some ambiguity regarding definitions in the order and seeing behaviors that increased risk for exposure to COVID-19 in establishments where alcohol was consumed,” a Thursday press release from the health department stated.

The new order states that establishments with liquor licenses must stop serving alcohol after 9 p.m. and close their premises no later than 10 p.m. Only carryout and food delivery services will be allowed after that time.

Establishments without a liquor license are not affected by this order. Neither are liquor stores.

George Diepenbrock, spokesperson for Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health, said that as the health department looked for ways to clear up the ambiguity of the July 3 health order that closed bars, it and its partners in the county’s Education Unified Command researched ways other communities across the country had dealt with environments that have demonstrated a high risk for exposure to COVID-19.

“In conversations with medical advisers, including Health Officer Dr. Thomas Marcellino and Dr. Jennifer Schrimsher of LMH Health, leadership believed it was in the best interest to limit high-risk environments in our community where individuals could congregate and not practice social distancing and potentially not wear masks, all factors that could increase the chances for spreading the virus we are all seeking to keep under control,” he wrote in an email to the Journal-World. “You will likely remember disease investigators had identified about 130 confirmed cases tied to bar environments in Lawrence from the time bars were allowed to initially re-open on June 8 through the July 3 order.”

K Meisel, an officer for the Lawrence Restaurant Association, said that while she understands the health department’s actions, she does feel the order is “punitive” toward some businesses.

“While I understand where the health department is coming from and I greatly appreciate their willingness to work with the Restaurant Association … it does present additional challenges for some businesses that are doing all of the things that they can by limiting their ability to conduct business,” she said.

Meisel, who co-owns Leeway Franks and Leeway Butcher, also said that many businesses cater to demographics other than the student community, and are “really not the types of bars or restaurants that are causing outbreaks or leading to outbreaks through their practices.”

It is difficult to know which bar environments in Lawrence are causing outbreaks, because the health department only releases the site of an outbreak if it is unable to identify all close contacts. That did happen in June, when the health department announced a COVID-19 outbreak at The Hawk, a popular student bar near the University of Kansas campus.

Diepenbrock also noted that a rise in cases in recent weeks has been shown through KU’s COVID-19 testing results, and he said that “this is a critical time to ensure those cases are isolated and contacts are under quarantine to keep the virus from spreading broader into the community and infecting at-risk populations.”

Meisel said communication with the health department has been better this past week, and that she hopes it will continue. She said the Lawrence Restaurant Association would like to see the final close time be pushed back to midnight, with alcohol service stopping at 11 p.m. She also believes it would be a good idea to allow outdoor seating to continue past the curfew.

Emily Peterson, owner of Merchants Pub & Plate and another officer of the Lawrence Restaurant Association, said the organization is trying to balance the priorities of the health department with extending hours of operation in order to support local businesses.

“The Lawrence Restaurant Association fully supports measures to maintain the health of our community,” she said.

For Peterson’s business, the curfew will hinder final seatings each night, she believes. The restaurant will have to inform patrons arriving later in the evening that it will be unable to serve them drinks. Merchants is already operating at about 30% of its typical capacity, Peterson said, because it is only open for outdoor dining.

Diepenbrock said the health department understands the difficult position establishment owners are in, “and we believe the new public health order strikes an appropriate balance for allowing establishments with liquor licenses to operate under smart and safe guidelines for maintaining social distancing and have patrons seated at tables and then limiting those opportunities after 10 p.m. for behaviors to occur that carry added risk for spreading the virus.”

Phil Bradley, executive director and lobbyist for the Kansas Licensed Beverage Association, said he’s appreciative of all the health department has been doing during the pandemic, but that the recent health order is “a death knell to many businesses who haven’t had a profit since March.”

Many businesses, Bradley said, hardly get customers until 8 p.m. in the summer and fall because of the heat during the day. He believes it is more fair to regulate and enforce personal behaviors such as mask wearing and social distancing, as opposed to “closing a whole class of businesses.”

The first order that closed bars was unenforceable, Bradley said, because it was “based upon a definition of a bar or restaurant that cannot be proven.”

The new order is clearer, he noted, “but it is going to end people’s livelihoods.”