The Boardwalk Bar and Grill intends to appeal the ruling. 7:19 pm, Dec. 22, 2020 ×
The Boardwalk Bar and Grill in East Grand Forks stayed open despite a state lawsuit and subsequent restraining order on Friday, Dec. 11. The restaurant, like others in the city, is chafing under Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz s order banning dine-in meal service to slow the spread of a novel coronavirus. Joe Bowen / Grand Forks Herald
EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. A Polk County judge has ruled that the Boardwalk Bar and Grill in East Grand Forks must comply with Executive Order
20-99 and is prohibited from opening for dine-in services.
The Boardwalk Bar and Grill intends to appeal the ruling. 5:15 pm, Dec. 22, 2020 ×
The Boardwalk Bar and Grill in East Grand Forks stayed open despite a state lawsuit and subsequent restraining order on Friday, Dec. 11. The restaurant, like others in the city, is chafing under Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz s order banning dine-in meal service to slow the spread of a novel coronavirus. Joe Bowen / Grand Forks Herald
A Polk County judge has ruled that the Boardwalk Bar and Grill in East Grand Forks must comply with Executive Order
20-99 and is prohibited from opening for dine-in services.
The ruling comes weeks after the East Grand Forks restaurant opened its dining room in defiance of Walz s order closing hospitality businesses in the state to slow the spread of COVID-19. Walz’s order was recently extended until Jan. 11.
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According to an internal Alerus Center review, conducted at the Herald’s request, attendance at a wedding there exceeded state “Smart Restart” COVID guidelines at the time by 62 people.
The review shows there were at least four such events during the year that exceeded guidelines another wedding, as well as general election voting and the Pride of Dakota shopping expo. Alerus Center officials say big events like these are carefully managed for maximum public safety.
While the sun was still rising, East Grand Forks Mayor Steve Gander, other local and state legislators and a few East side residents met at the Spud Jr. for a drink on the sidewalk on the frigid morning of Saturday, Dec. 19.
UPDATED: Judge orders closure of northwest Minnesota bar and grill
Attorney General Keith Ellison filed a lawsuit against the establishment Friday. A judge made the decision to close the establishment later in the day. 4:19 pm, Dec. 11, 2020 ×
A water tower in East Grand Forks, Minn. (Grand Forks Herald photo)
EAST GRAND FORKS, Minn. A northwest Minnesota bar and restaurant was ordered to close Friday after the state attorney general filed a lawsuit that said the business refused to comply with Executive Order 20-99, which prohibits on-premises dining through Dec. 18.
Minnesota Attorney General Ellison announced shortly after 5 p.m. that Polk County District Court granted his office’s motion for a temporary restraining order to prohibit Boardwalk Bar and Grill from remaining open to the public for on-premises dining. He said the establishment had been operating in violation of the order for approximately 72 hours.
East Grand Forks restaurant, other regional businesses spurn shutdown order
Some businesses reopened on the same day Gov. Tim Walz announced an extension of his shutdown order at a news conference. Walz announced bars, restaurants and breweries would be allowed to serve patrons outdoors at 50% of the business’s capacity to a maximum of 100 people, which he admitted may not be entirely feasible given the season. Indoor dining will remain off limits until Jan. 11. 4:15 pm, Dec. 16, 2020 ×
Joe Bushaw, owner of Joe s Diner said he needs to reopen or he will lose everything. Adam Kurtz / Grand Forks Herald
Joe Bushaw, owner of Joe’s Diner in East Grand Forks, is among a number of business owners in Minnesota that have reopened, or are planning to, in defiance of an executive order that closed them to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. That order, with modifications, has been extended to Jan. 11.