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St Paul ( KROC AM News) - Minnesota officials are going after a restaurant that has violated the state's shutdown order.

On the same day Minnesota bars and restaurants were told the order has been extended another three weeks, it was revealed the business has been hit with a penalty for an earlier violation.

The Minnesota Department of Health said Wednesday it has had issues with Mission Tavern, a restaurant in Merrifield, since late November.

According to a statement:

“MDH determined that Mission Tavern had allowed on-site consumption on November 25 in violation of Executive Order 20-99. In response, the department issued a cease-and-desist order on November 30 and the restaurant came into compliance with the order. Despite other restaurants in Crow Wing County doing their part to keep the community safe, Mission Tavern again put its employees and customers at risk and re-opened for on-site dining on December 11. MDH issued another cease-and-desist order. Due to the repeated and willful nature of the establishment’s non-compliance, MDH also issued a $10,000 administrative penalty and a license suspension notice.”

MDH Assistant Commissioner Dan Huff added:

“We’ve said many times that we look at regulatory actions as a last resort,” said “COVID-19 has impacted all of us, including small business owners. Despite those challenges, the vast majority are doing their best to help slow down the spread of the virus. They recognize that operating out of compliance with COVID-related requirements can put at risk the health of employees and customers. We owe it to those businesses to have a consistent and fair enforcement approach for those requirements.”

The department and state attorney general may get busy in coming days as dozens of bars and restaurants have indicated they are planning to reopen in defiance of the shutdown order.

 

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