An Illinois restaurant, which recently lost an appellate court ruling to keep its dining room open amid an indoor dining ban in its country, now intends to take its case to the state’s supreme court.
The legal battles of FoxFire restaurant in Geneva, Ill., could serve as a litmus test for restaurants seeking relief from government-imposed dine-in shutdowns as the pandemic continues to surge.
Late last month, a Kane County, Ill., judge granted FoxFire a temporary restraining order, blocking public health officials from forcing the restaurant to comply with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s shutdown mandate.
On Friday, however, Illinois’ 2nd District Appellate Court reversed that decision.
“This fight is not just about FoxFire,” the restaurant posted on Facebook. “It is for Illinois. And we are going to fight this to the Illinois Supreme Court and end this strangle hold that is causing more harm than good.”
The family-owned restaurant, which opened in 2003, set up a GoFundMe to help pay for its legal battles to keep its dining room open. As of mid-day Tuesday, the restaurant had raised about $7,200 of its $60,000 goal.
FoxFire remains open for dine-in service, chef and co-owner KC Gulbro told Restaurant Business.
"As long as we're in court, we're going to keep it open because we feel like we have the legal grounds to do so," Gulbro said.
The appellate court found that the Illinois governor has the authority to shut down restaurants if the move is in the public’s interest.
“There has to be a comparison of the disease’s impact on the restaurant industry viz a viz its impact on the general public,” the court wrote. “In this instance, the unstated premise is that the pandemic is not as severe or as dangerous as presumed or claimed by defendants as a basis to impose the orders. Simply put, plaintiff has neither pled nor presented evidence that the cure is worse than the disease.”
Pritzker began shutting down indoor dining across many parts of Illinois last month for a second time since the pandemic began, due to rising virus rates across the state. A number of operators around the state have opted to defy those orders and keep their dining rooms open.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a Restaurant Business member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.