Vacaville warns barbershop that violated shutdown order
City officials served a ceaseand desist notice to a Vacaville barbershop that opened its doors for business Friday in violation of state and county public health orders.
Juan Desmarais, owner of Primo’s Barbershop, said he closed his business for several weeks but reopened Friday after realizing it could be months before the government might give him permission to operate.
“I had enough,” Desmarais said. “I wasn’t going to stand for it. We have rights that I feel like are being trampled on. Our industry is being overlooked.”
California’s shelterathome order mandates certain businesses deemed nonessential, including hair and nail salons, to remain closed until further notice to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The Solano County public health order, in effect through May 17, also considers barbershops and salons nonessential.
Code enforcement officers and Vacaville police approached Desmarais several times to get him to voluntarily comply with the order when he opened the shop previously, officials said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, those efforts have been unsuccessful and Primo’s, which was initially closed, has reopened,” the city’s statement said.
The shop remained open as of Sunday afternoon.
The notice delivered to Primo’s informs Desmarais that he could face a $1,000 fine or up to six months in county jail, city officials said. Desmarais could also face civil penalties including a restraining order, prosecution of unfair business practices or administrative review by professional licensing boards.
Desmarais, a Marine and former Highway Patrol officer, said his interactions with law enforcement have been professional, and he knows they are doing their job. His shop’s niche is to serve military, veterans and law enforcement members. The walls are decorated with patches from customers, he said.
Since reopening, Desmarais said he and his staff have implemented additional precautions to their regular sanitation standards by wearing masks and gloves, working one on one with clients, and sanitizing seats and equipment between customers.
On Friday, the barbershop had a “great turnout” of supportive clients, he said. He expects to be fined and cited but plans to stay open regardless as a scapegoat for the community.
“I’m going to absorb as many citations as I feel like I can,” he said. “I’m going to go to court on them and fight them.”
The barbershop owner, who appeared on CNN and Fox News last week, said he didn’t want to sit by and watch his employees struggle to feed their families any longer.
“I’ll tell you who’s losing,” he said. “The little businesses are losing, the small shops are losing ... and there’s no one at all going to come and save us.”