Impact on local economy not yet known
Outdoor restaurant dining in LA County (which includes Catalina Island) is on hold for the present. The county issued new rules for restaurants that went into effect the day before Thanksgiving. The rules restrict restaurants, bars and wineries to delivery and takeout only.
Capt. John Hocking, commander of the Avalon Sheriff’s Station, said the public is allowed to eat outside. He cited park benches as an example of places where the public can eat outside. Restaurants, however, can’t provide a place for them.
The announcement was made last weekend, just days after the governor issued a statewide curfew for counties in the purple tier of coronavirus restrictions. Los Angeles County never left the purple tier. “Businesses on Catalina Island are closely following new guidelines put in place by the county of Los Angeles and the state of California,” wrote Jim Luttjohann, president and CEO of Love Catalina Island/Catalina Island Tourism Authority.
“While we regret the impact that this will have on in-person dining, we are committed to the health and safety of the community and encourage all visitors, residents and businesses to be understanding and follow the health orders,” he wrote.
“The exact impacts on our local economy are unknown, but likely this will be another blow to an already wounded and fragile situation with employees facing reduced wages, business owners and city of Avalon seeing reduced revenue and visitors finding reduced opportunity to enjoy dining on our island,” wrote Luttjohann.
“At this time retail attractions and tours are not impacted, so visitors can still enjoy those options along with some takeout or room service/delivery of food,” wrote Luttjohann.
Hocking expected local businesses to continue to comply with the rules.
“The Avalon Sheriff’s Station personnel are aware of the updated LA County Health Order and the State Order,” wrote Hocking in a Nov. 23 email.
“Working with the city of Avalon, and the County of Los Angeles, we will be enforcing the orders by first educating the public and local businesses. Despite the orders negatively effecting businesses, I am appreciative that the Avalon businesses have complied with all of the orders up to this point, and I believe they will continue to do so. As a last resort, citations and criminal reports would be written,” Hocking wrote.
“We do not expect any challenges based on the size of the Avalon Sheriff’s Station,” Hocking wrote.
On Tuesday, Nov. 24, County Supervisor Janice Hahn, whose district includes Avalon, issued a statement opposing the ban on outdoor dining.
“I don’t support the decision to shut down outdoor dining right now. It would be one thing if we had a new stimulus from the Federal government so that we could help the restaurants and the people losing their paychecks—but we don’t. I don’t think we have the data to prove that outdoor dining is driving the recent surge in cases, nor do we have the data to assure us that this action will turn our case numbers around. I am also very worried that it will drive more people to indoor gathering,” Hahn said.
“But I do not want to give people the idea that we are not facing a crisis that demands action. We need you to stop gathering with friends and family, especially indoors. Please cancel your plans: I know I did. This situation is serious. Our healthcare employees, our workers, and businesses are depending on us turning this around,” Hahn said.
The Board of Supervisors this week voted down a proposal to allow outdoor dining with 50 percent capacity.
The vote was 2-3. Supervisor Hahn and Supervisor Kathryn Barger had supported the proposal.