What does the red tier mean in El Dorado County, where indoor dining was common?
Buttercup Pantry is the only Placerville restaurant where one can consistently find a Hangtown Fry, the town’s famous omelet with bacon and oysters first allegedly made for a Gold Rush miner who struck it rich. Signs hanging in the diner’s windows beseech customers to cover their mouths and noses with masks, throwing a little shade and humor at the offenders.
“It has been a year. I could potty train a dog faster than this,” one reads. Another print-out simply shows a Google search for “is there a ADA mandate for not wearing a mask in public,” followed by a USA Today fact check informing readers that no, the Americans with Disabilities Act does not allow people to ignore mask requirements without taking other precautions.
The same signs also hung inside Buttercup Pantry’s dining room Monday, not far from where customers sat eating in violation of the state public health order.
The California Department of Public Health said El Dorado County restaurants could reopen Wednesday for indoor dining at 25% occupancy, as falling coronavirus infection rates dropped it to the state’s red tier. Yet customers could be seen eating inside at more than a few open restaurants in Cameron Park, Shingle Springs and El Dorado Hills a day before the impending move was announced Tuesday. What does state permission to dine indoors mean in a 1,700-square-mile county where many, particularly in more rural swaths, have already been doing so for months?
For Cold Water Brewery & Grill, it still means a lot. The South Lake Tahoe brewery has refused to let customers eat or drink inside since El Dorado County slipped back to the purple tier in mid-November, in contrast to at least 12-15 other South Lake Tahoe restaurants, owner Debbie Brown said.
Instead, Cold Water installed 11 outdoor fire pits last year and bought 13 mushroom-topped heaters. Fuel alone cost $5,000 per month throughout the winter; employees at the local store called Brown the “queen of propane,” she said. Most customers embraced the winter ambiance even amid snowfall, she said, and waits frequently reached an hour for Cold Water’s 13 outdoor tables.
Cold Water employees will take a couple of days to assemble the dining room before reopening indoors Friday, allowing the brewery to seat about 30 people inside as well as the outdoor space. Brown kept Cold Water’s indoor space closed for her employees’ and customers’ health, she said, but also out of respect for a larger effort to limit the virus’ spread.
“It’s hard when you watch other (restaurants) with their blinds shut and you know there are 100 people inside those doors,” Brown said. “Does it hurt? Sure, it hurts when you’re in a snowstorm and we’re left with snow-seating outside. It’s really hard. But we decided it was important to take the high road, follow the rules and do our job of keeping everyone safe.”
El Dorado County is one of the few California governmental bodies that fines businesses for disregarding COVID-19 safety protocols, after resident complaints and several attempts at education. Three flagrant violators — Apple Bistro, Cafe El Dorado and Danette’s Brick Oven Pub — continue to be fined $500 per day of operation and face additional consequences from the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
County spokeswoman Carla Hass acknowledged additional restaurants had been open for indoor dining, but noted a difference between those three and others that require masks and socially distance tables. What customers have seen dining out, Hass said, they should expect to see throughout the rest of the pandemic.
“The establishments and people who have been operating in compliance with the purple tier, we expect them to continue operating in compliance in the red tier,” Hass said. “Those who weren’t serving indoors will probably open indoors at 25%. Those who were following the rules before, we expect to follow the rules going forward.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2021 at 7:00 AM.