CASTLE ROCK, Colorado – Dozens of cars drove through Castle Rock Sunday to support restaurants and small businesses whose owners say they are being unfairly charged under COVID-19 regulations.
Douglas County is currently listed as a red county on the COVID-19 board in Colorado, amid an increase in coronavirus cases.
“It’s not fair; it doesn’t make sense,” said Jose Espinoza, the chef and owner of Trestles Coastal Cuisine at Castle Rock. “There’s no reason to allow another business to be as full as them when we can’t have anyone inside.”
Current regulations require restaurants to close all indoor dining rooms. But it is allowed to open shops and malls with 50% capacity.
“We already tend to lose $ 120,000 this month,” Espinoza said. “It’s just not fair to see other companies not have the security app. Get them to put us down.”
The Trestles Coastal Cuisine dining room fell silent on Sunday afternoon. But on the street of Castle Rock’s malls and outlet stores, the parking lots were full of shoppers, many queuing outside the shops, waiting to enter.
“They have to allow us to open in the same way, they allow everyone to open,” Espinoza explained, pointing to the street. “If we were both allowed 50% or both were allowed 25%, that’s the same.”
According to Colorado’s COVID website, restaurants and bars have contributed 9.69% of new cases statewide over the past month, compared to 7.24% of cases reported in retail stores. According to the state website, the main contributors to new cases are schools and health centers, with more than 20% of cases new.
“We understand that there are things that have to happen during a pandemic. And we have adapted as best we can,” said Frankie Menna, chef and owner of PieZanos Pizza in Sedalia. “We’re at a point where we can’t move forward the way we’ve been”
Menna says he has lost more than 60 percent of his business revenue this year, a toll that, if he continues, will likely lead to the closure of his store. The small space outside your restaurant remains uncovered. He says he can’t afford to close it for the winter.
“We could have made a table for four people for about $ 10,000,” he explained. “And that would have taken about a year to make the money.”
The COVID relief law in Washington, DC is likely to bring some relief to small restaurant owners in the coming weeks. Still, Menna says she will eventually do little for her business if regulations prevent customers from eating at her restaurant.
“Our elected officials are supposed to be there to lead us and unfortunately they haven’t,” Menna said. “The rules they have set make it impossible to survive if you are a small business.”