DENVER – Until an analyst from Denver’s Department of Public Health and the Environment showed up on Saturday night, Lindsay Cardiff thought she was complying with all the Govt-19 rules of her sports band WD Shorty.
“She came in and got a report that we were dining inside,” Cardiff said.
But there are no customers inside. Cardiff said they were all outside on the covered patio under the heaters.
The inspector told co-owner Joe Conway that they did not have proper ventilation and made customers move to the edge of the patio near the undisclosed area.
“Suddenly snow was blowing on their faces, and they were wondering what was wrong with you,” Conway told Denver 7.
Cardiff admits they initially closed the folds to let the snow out. He said the inspector came in and told him to open a few folds.
“On top of this, he told us we could not eat any food on the warm patio. Everyone should have a low (undisclosed) patio downstairs because there is no proper ventilation, even if we open everything.”
As the snow continues to fall, Cardiff made the difficult decision to close on Sunday while waiting for the rules to be clarified.
He was a financial success.
“On a normal Bronco Sunday we have a whole restaurant, we’re rocking, we’re rolling, we’re having fun,” he said.
Even during COVID epidemics, Sundays are one of the busiest days of the week.
Cardiff has owned WD Shorty’s Sports Bar for ten years. He said it has been in his family for 23 years.
“I grew up here,” he said. “My kids grew up here. It’s not just our job for us. We’ve been here forever, it’s our livelihood. It’s a part of the family.”
Cardiff told Denver 7, “We thought we were lucky because we had a big patio.”
Now, she’s starting to think so.
“I’m not going to catch the computer because I know they have all the power. I’m trying to follow the rules. I do not have a customer at my bar at 7:30 pm on Saturday night. We have a sports bar. We are closed on a Franco Sunday. , We do what we can, get people out of here, (on the patio) “
Cardiff said the patio could not use the patio covered area under Code Red rules because the openings for ventilation are close to each other, not the other way around.
“We show up at 6:30 every morning and turn on these heaters so our customers can sit in the cold and have breakfast,” he said.
“She doesn’t like our ventilation. So teach us. Tell me what to do. Don’t say your two walls are together, so you can’t have people here. I’ll knock that wall if I have to. Tell me what to do,” she said.
Cardiff said he wants health officials to be more flexible with the rules and people’s livelihoods and want them to be more clear about what the rules are.
He said he gave the Conway inspector a business card and asked him to email him a copy of the guidelines, and the inspector told him to email him first because he would lose the business card because he wanted to go on vacation.
He said he had sent her an email, but had not yet asked for a refund.
Denver 7 went to the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.
A spokesman sent a link to the guide sheet for temporary outdoor structures for restaurants and events.