More than 150 Minnesota businesses vow to defy governor’s shutdown order

A coalition of small-business owners in Minnesota say they plan to reopen early, before an order from the state’s governor to stay closed expires. 

Gov. Tim Walz (D) signed an executive order last month closing bars and restaurants in an effort to curb the number of coronavirus cases in the state. The order is set to expire Friday, but a group of approximately 160 businesses has banded together, urging one another to reopen early, some as soon as Wednesday. 

“The financial part of it sucks,” Lisa Monet Zarza, who owns a bar in Lakeville, told the Star Tribune. “But it’s more than just that. We donate catering, support youth sports, the police and the Rotary. It’s hurting the fabric of the community.”

A Facebook page for the “ReOpen Minnesota Coalition” posted a sign-up sheet late Tuesday with dozens of businesses listed. 

In a statement to the newspaper, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) said any business that opens prematurely could be prosecuted for acting in a way he characterized as selfish. 

“I get no happiness out of enforcing the order, but my duty to protect Minnesotans from the deadliest global pandemic in a century demands it,” Ellison said.

“It’s not fair to the vast majority of businesses who are doing their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 and are complying with the executive order to let a handful who chose not to compete unfairly with them,” he said.

Richard Dobransky, who owns nearly a dozen restaurants in the state, argued the short-term gain for the business who wish to open early is not worth the long-term public health consequence.  

“Why risk your license for short-term gain? So they make $400 in two days and then they have to close forever?” Dobransky said in an interview with the Star-Tribune. “We’ve all been hurt tremendously. Let’s hunker down and reopen the best way.”