Surveillance shows agents shutting down Morgan Hill restaurant for allegedly violating state orders
MORGAN HILL, Calif. (KGO) -- In the South Bay, a restaurant in Morgan Hill that's been serving customers outside for a month, is ordered to stop by the state. And that order could affect every restaurant in Santa Clara County.
"I really have no idea why the state ABC is doing this," Ladera Grill owner Dan McCranie said.
These dramatic surveillance pictures provided by McCranie show members of Alcohol Beverage Control abruptly shutting the restaurant down Friday night.
"When we were visited by these two armed officers, everyone was very worried and wondering what was going on," restaurant manager Chris Provini said.
The closure caused confusion and outrage at the restaurant - which had been open for outdoor dining since June 5. The city's police chief saying ABC told him the county did not have approval from the state for dining outdoors.
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Morgan Hilll's city attorney Don Larkin spoke out at a news briefing Saturday, vowing to find a solution.
"We want to do the right thing. We think we are doing the right thing, and if we're not doing the right thing somebody else needs to tell us what we're doing wrong," Larkin said.
While no citations were issued, ABC informed us that they visited numerous establishments and explained that "Santa Clara County had not received variance to open" and were "technically in violation of California's stay at home orders".
The owner of Ladera Grill says this is yet another blow to his business, after already losing half a million since shelter-in-place orders began.
"I was up until 2:30 in the morning reading everything Governor Newsom had published, everything I could find on the internet - I have seen nothing that would be a directive that we could no longer have outside dining," McCranie said.
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They defied ABC orders today and say they'll continue, until otherwise stated by Governor Newsom.
"I find this reprehensible and I'm not going to comply unless I get a clear directive," he added.
The county responded to us in a statement, saying in part: "the county's application for a variance was not approved by the state, but the county is in continued conversations with the California Department of Public Health regarding its application."
Adding to this confusion, Santa Clara County did apply earlier this week for a different variance that would have allowed the reopening of hair salons, nail salons and gyms.
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