CALUMET, Michigan — A cafe in a small town in the U.S. state of Michigan has been found in contempt of court and fined $2,500 for continuing to serve customers indoors.
A judge held a hearing on Friday involving Cafe Rosetta, which serves soup, sandwiches and more in Calumet, a town of roughly 750 in Houghton County.
“When it comes to court orders, in my opinion, civil disobedience is not an option. It just absolutely is not,” Judge Wanda Stokes said.
The cafe’s food permit has been yanked. State regulators then got a Dec. 30 order from Stokes to shut down the business.
Since mid-November, Michigan restaurants and bars have been restricted to outdoor service or carry-out orders to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Cafe Rosetta co-owner Amy Heikkinen said she can’t afford to limit business to carry-out orders. Hundreds of people rallied to support her on Jan. 2.
Stokes suspended the contempt fine until Wednesday to allow the cafe’s attorney to file legal arguments, The Daily Mining Gazette reported.