Judge removes Spiffy’s restraining order, still no indoor dining allowed

A Chehalis restaurant that previously refused to honor the state’s indoor dining ban faced the judge again on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, a judge slapped Spiffy’s Restaurant with a restraining order for denying the COVID-19 restrictions against serving customers for indoor dining. The order said the restaurant must halt indoor dining in accordance with the governor’s restrictions, but it did not shut them down entirely.

At the hearing on Tuesday, an attorney for Spiffy’s told the judge the restaurant has stopped offering indoor dining service and has no intention to resume it as long as the existing COVID restrictions are in place.

So, the judge removed the restraining order. He did warn, however, that if Spiffy’s resumes indoor service while the restrictions are still in place, the court could re-issue that order.

Spiffy’s owner already faces more than $100,000 in fines.

Gov. Inslee extended the temporary closure of indoor dining and gatherings in Washington, then announced a new reopening plan for the state on Jan. 5, of which all eight regions currently remain in Phase 1. Takeout service is permitted, as is outdoor dining with restrictions to include adequate spacing, enhanced cleaning, and capacity limits.

The KIRO Radio Newsdesk and KIRO 7 News contributed to this report.

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