DRY RIDGE, Ky. — The owner of Beans Cafe and Bakery is facing criminal charges for keeping the restaurant's indoor dining room open after Kentucky health officials ordered them to temporarily close, the restaurant owner's attorney, Chris Wiest confirmed to WCPO Tuesday night.
The restaurant had defied publicly Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's order to suspend indoor dining for three weeks to stop the spread of COVID-19 in restaurants and bars.
Wiest said the restaurant's owner, Richard Hayhoe, has been charged with operating a restaurant without a permit in Grant and Boone counties. Beans Cafe had continued to operate after it lost its food permit in November for defying the order.
"Chris Wiest and I will go to court anytime to keep employees working in an inspected, hygienic dining room just before Christmas!" read a Facebook post from Beans Cafe on Tuesday evening.
"We will demand a jury trial and see what the community thinks about these charges," Wiest told WCPO, adding that Hayhoe will not be arraigned until February.
Restrictions on indoor dining, which went into effect on Nov. 20, were lifted Monday.
