Dining ban critic drops bid for permit
Owner of shuttered restaurant, which defied pandemic prohibitions, requests a dismissal
A former owner of a Long Beach restaurant who defied prohibitions on in-person, outdoor dining in 2020-21 — bans that were enacted as a way to slow the spread of the coronavirus — has dropped her petition seeking to have the city ordered to return her health permit.
Lawyers for petitioner Dana Tanner, ex-owner and CEO of the now shuttered Restauration, filed her petition in February 2021 against Long Beach and its Department of Health and Human Services. On Wednesday, her attorney filed a request for dismissal of her petition “with prejudice,” meaning it cannot be refiled later.
In February of this year, Tanner, who was charged in a separate criminal complaint, was ordered to pay restitution to the city and perform community service with the stipulation that the multiple misdemeanor-case could be dismissed if she follows a judge's terms. She closed her Fourth Street eatery in April 2021.
Tanner's petition alleged the city did not provide data explaining why major retailers and other industries were allowed to operate with minimum restrictions during the coronavirus, yet restaurants could not offer outdoor dining.
The city's outdoor dining ban lasted from late November2020, with a coronavirus surge wreaking havoc throughout California, until January 2021, when the Health Department aligned with Gov. Gavin Newsom's decision to lift the state's stay-at-home order. Tanner kept Restauration open, drawing the ire of the city. Along with being charged with the misdemeanors, the city revoked her health permit.
In 2021, Tanner defended her decision to continue offering outdoor dining.
“We're here to make food for people,” she told reporters. “I'm here to keep people employed and I'm here to pay my bills. If I can do that safely, and I know in my heart I can, like, I will.”