Texas restaurant defies rules on virus closings

A restaurant in a Houston-area community opened on Friday for customers who want to eat inside, in defiance of a county-wide order banning dine-in service due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Federal American Grill in Hedwig Village had color-coded tablecloths.

A table with a white cloth was open for seating.

A table with a black cloth was closed.

The white-clothed tables were all at least 6 feet (1.83 meters) apart, complying with the general standard for social distancing to limit the spread of the virus.

Seating at the bar was marked off with tape at 6-foot intervals.

Early Friday, no one was sitting at the tables inside.

But Matt Brice, the restaurant's owner, said he had booked all available reservations later in the day.

Brice was not accepting walk-in diners and limiting the restaurant to 30% capacity to prevent crowds inside.

"It's time to open," Brice said.

"The small businesses of this world, not just this community but this world, are hurting. They're hurting badly and not being able to open has been a big struggle for us."

Brice said he had applied for a loan through the federal Paycheck Protection Program and not yet been approved.

The program funded by Congress has drawn attention for loans it has given to publicly traded companies despite a stated goal of helping small businesses.

Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has restricted restaurants in the county to offering take-out and delivery only.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has started a partial re-opening of the state economy, with hospitals beginning to resume elective surgeries and stores offering curbside service.

In announcing the order, Hidalgo said potential violators could face fines or jail time.

A spokeswoman for the judge did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Spokesmen for the Harris County fire marshal and the Harris County sheriff referred questions about the restaurant to local officials in Hedwig Village, an independent 2,700-person town located inside Houston's city limits.

Hedwig Village Police Chief David A. Gott did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Brice said he thought the government was unfairly deciding what businesses could open and close.

While the weeks of closings had cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said, it also left his restaurant workers at home without a paycheck.

"The right to open up in a safe manner, that should be our right," he said. "We shouldn't be told we have to shut our business down."