Dear Governor Inslee,

I am writing you today on behalf of myself and my peers in the Restaurant and Bar industry.
We are in desperate need of your attention and assistance as we navigate these current times.
We have been considered essential from day one and have continued to feed our communities
and keep our employees safe while navigating everchanging protocols. I write to you out of
grave concern for both our industry and our communities. I hope you will take the time to
reflect on this letter, speak with your subject matter experts and please consider reaching out
to me with any questions or concerns you may have that I can address.

The first of my concerns is the 10pm service cutoff. I understand your reasoning behind this
policy, but I need to tell you what it looks like from the view of a restaurant and bar owner. We
announce last call at 9:35pm. We then proceed to listen to people get upset and question the
policy like I personally am the one who created it. That lasts about 5 minutes and then everyone
starts game planning who’s house they are going to after we close. This is the part that is of
grave concern to all of us. When someone is at my establishment, they must follow all protocols,
or they are removed from the premise. I have 2-3 staff policing the environment and we achieve
compliance with minimal to no issues. Clearly after-hours gatherings happening around a bonfire
or in a house are meeting nearly none of the requirements.
 
o Who is constantly sanitizing? 
o Who is serving them to ensure food & beverage items are safe? 
o Who controls the consumption of alcohol? 
o Who is social distancing them from people they may not know? 
o Who controls the size of the group? 

The folks hosting these gatherings are not walking around enforcing mask wearing, social
distancing, sanitation practices and are certainly not trained in cutting people off from over
service. As we have seen on the news lately, house parties, Fraternity events and the like are of
large concern. What is missing from those gatherings are the professional service staff and
ownership groups committed to facilitating social environments safely. I am asking for a
reconsideration of your 10pm policy and request 2am closing times be reinstated. Even at a
minimum, a 12am timeframe would help facilitate evenings out without later evolving into after
hour house gatherings.

o We mandate that they wear a mask anytime not at the table. 

o We constantly sanitize things they touch. 
o The food and beverage items are prepared for them & served safely. 
o We limit the amount of people they engage with. 
o We are the safety net around the virus at a much higher level than if they were at home
with friends. 
o We have the capacity to work swiftly with Public Health if there is an issue.  Several
operators have proven our efficiency in safety. 
 
The second concern is a harsh economic reality of the collective policies that have been put in
place. When you layer the 50% capacity requirements on top of the 10pm service cutoff you
reduce a bars ability to generate revenue by close to 80%. This is an economically
unsustainable course. The busiest times for bar establishments is roughly 9pm- 1am. Happy
Hour is not really a business segment at this time as people working from home. We do not get
that regular 3pm-6pm commuter traffic stopping in for services. When you put limited
commuter traffic together with cutting the majority of our revenue generating hours you
sentence our industry to a slow and painful path that leads to closure. You have also removed
the ability to generate revenue via gaming. Darts, billiards and video games are all forms of
passive income that have been removed from revenue stream. If customers are already
restricted to only dining indoors with a member of my household then how is playing a game of
darts or pool with them a safety risk? I promise you I can keep my 7 games just as sanitized as a
grocery store keeps their 100 plus carts, handled by way more people than play the games at
my bar.

The reality is many restaurant and bars are not going to make it and at this point the
regulations are the largest contributing factor to what will cause the closures. None of us want
to endanger the public and we also don’t want to lose our livelihoods and life savings because
of policy that is not having its intended impact. I spent a lot of time and money redesigning my
business, adding outdoor spaces and creating the distancing you have asked for. All I ask is that
you trust me and my fellow owners to follow the mask requirements and distancing protocols
you have asked for and for you to give us back our hours so we can survive. These closing hours
are causing more of an issues than they are solving and I promise you we can be a solution to
that problem. Please don’t legislate to the lowest common denominator. If someone is willfully
violating the rules, take enforcement action. We need you to restore our hours while we can
still have a chance to survive. That window is quickly closing, and we are about to lose our
useable outdoor space in the next few months due to weather. We have put our trust in this
state to be a place we can do business and achieve the dream of owning a small business.
Please take the reasonable steps necessary to give us a chance to continue to serve our
communities, retain our employees, generate revenue for the state and make a living.

Thanks in advance for your actions to support us,

Daniel Austin

Owner/Operator
Peel and Press
Flight Path
 Additional Supporters
Shadowland West5
Dumplings of Fury Lagetta Pasta and Pub
Mission Cantina Woodinville Cut Shop
Boombox Bar The Nook
Lodge Sportsgrille Streamline Tavern
Hooverville Nine Yards Brewing
Hobnobber 2 Fingers Social Club
The Westy Magoo's Annex
The Westy Roosevelt Union
The Lumber Yard Bar The Camp Bar
Mac's Triangle Pub Cha Cha Lounge
Beveridge Place Pub Bimbos
Prime Snowy River
Circa Terra Plata
Pine Tavern Limeñ a
The Woods The Loose Wheel Bar and Grill
Cuff Complex Beer Star
Queer/Bar Sonyas
Cupcake Royale Blarney Stone Pub
Raney's Bar and Grill Smarty Pants
Akli Beach Pub Hudson
Harry's Bar JP's Taproom and Grill
Olympia Pizza and Spaghetti House 3 Timeout Alehouse
The Bridge JP's Tavern
The Point Hy iu hee hee
Admiral Pub JP's Barroom
Arthur's Carriage Square Bar & Grill
CanBar Doyles Public House
Locker Room Cease and Desist Book Club
Future Primitive Brewing Fast Eddies Bar and Grill
Drunky Two Shoes Borracho Tacos and Tequileria
Taradise Café Boombox Pizza
Red Wheel Bar and Grill Kigo Kitchen
River City Brewing Red Cow
Tangen Hospitality Mkt.
Gators Elliot Bay Brewing Company
The Spot Barrel Brothers
Meeker Street Bar and Grill Dahlia Lounge
Billy McHale's Restaurant Palace Kitchen
Christy's Bar and Grill Brave Horse Tavern
Beerocracy Cuoco
Uncle Mos The Carlile Room
HUB International Etta's
Ounces Dahlia Bakery
Floatation Device Restaurant Lola
Pints and Quarts Serious Pie
Pints Barn Serious Takeout
Central Ave Pub
The Whisky Bar
Frankie's B-Town Bistro
Whisky West Linda’s Tavern
Stone Hut Bar & Grill King’s Hardware
Red Monkey Walla Walla
Hop Thief Taproom
Cheeseburger Charities
Poggie Tavern
Larry's Tavern
Targy's
West Seattle Brewing Company
West Seattle TapShack
Beach Tavern
Marco Pollo
Bumpys Puyallup
Ballard/Frelard Pizza Company
How To Cook A Wolf
Cortina
Goldfinch Tavern
Roine XII
Tavolata
Staple and Fancy
San Juan Seltzery
ESR Pop-Ups