A Colorado restaurant opened its doors to customers May 10, defying an executive order from Gov. Jared Polis, according to The Washington Post.
Footage taken by Nick Puckett, a reporter for Colorado Community Media, shows dozens of patrons inside Castle Rock-based Cookies and Crème Coffee and Kitchen with no social distancing measures in place. Customers are sitting at tables in close proximity and crowding around the counter to pick up their orders. Only one person in the footage is seen wearing a mask, and a line wraps around outside the restaurant.
Under Colorado's "Safer At Home" order, residents are "strongly advised" but not ordered to stay at home, and restaurants are allowed to offer carry-out services only. C & C Coffee and Kitchen opened for dine-in services and served about 500 customers, according to Fox affiliate KDVR.
"I'm so happy so many people came out to support the Constitution and stand up for what is right," April Arellano, who owns the restaurant with her husband Jesse, told Colorado Community Media. "We did our time. We did our two weeks. We did more than two weeks … and we were failing. We had to do something."
The Tri-County Health Department said the restaurant's actions could undermine the gains the state has achieved via social distancing over the last seven weeks.
"We will follow up with this restaurant to ensure that they, like other restaurants in the county, take appropriate steps to protect the public health, by limiting service to curbside and take-out service," the health department said in a statement cited by CBS Denver.
The Arellanos did not immediately respond to the Post's request for comment.