Restaurant cited for staying open
A Cabot restaurant that defied recent state orders to temporarily close again has refused to close after being cited by the state for violating the governor's order that prohibited dine-in service at restaurants.
According to the state's Department of Agriculture, Mel's Place in Cabot was one of 36 restaurants across the state that were ordered to shut down after verified complaints that they violated the order. In Butler, the department inspected three businesses because of virus-related complaints.
The department said that the businesses were closed after a state inspector was on the premises of the businesses. However, Mel's Place still refused to comply with the order out of the three inspections.
Mel's Place was visited by an inspector Dec. 30 and was ordered closed until the expiration of the governor's order on Monday. But Mel Ebig, whose husband Andrew Ebig owns the restaurant, said they continued to operate through their shutdown order.
“We have employees that need their job,” Mel Ebig said. “We don't have any stimulus support, so we have to stay open. The community needs us also to feel normal. They're not afraid. As long as people are willing to come and sit down, we're willing to serve them.”
Ebig said that the restaurant, which serves what she calls an eclectic menu of Italian food, tried to restrict their services to takeout only during the early months of the outbreak. But she said they only made about 40% of their usual profits.
She said that during this past holiday season, the business was “jam-packed” with customers looking to dine in.
In December, Gov. Tom Wolf announced the most recent government efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Citing a rise in the spread of the virus, Wolf moved to close entertainment venues and gyms, ban indoor dining at restaurants and temporarily halt school sports and other extracurricular activities. The closures, enacted Dec. 12, expired Jan. 4.
During the temporary shutdown, the department's Bureau of Food Safety performed 373 inspections after receiving 99 complaints. The majority of those complaints were specific to COVID-19.
Mel's Place was not fined.
The department also notes that businesses that have not complied with legal orders jeopardize their eligibility for future state funding opportunities.
“Everybody keeps saying thank you for being open,” Ebig said. “Customers are very pleased. Everybody is really grateful. They want peace and somewhere to be normal. We love and appreciate our customers, and we're willing to stand up for everybody's rights.”
