Surprised that a meal with his employees brought a warning letter from a state agency, Solvang chef Michael Cherney decided to spread the word to avoid others landing in the predicament.
“Fellow restaurant friends and family, PLEASE learn from our mistakes. NO ONE is allowed to eat or drink inside your restaurant or on your patio. No where on your property is ANYONE allowed to eat or drink anything but WATER. This includes employees and owners. During regular business hours or after hours,” Cherney said in a social media post for Peasants Feast.
“So now, we take turns, eating on the curb, alone,” he added.
A family meal, essentially a Peasants Feast staff meeting with food inside the restaurant at 487 Atterdag Road, brought a warning letter from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, saying the business violated public health orders.
“Nobody knew it was wrong,” said Cherney, who co-owns the restaurant with wife Sarah Cherney, who serves as general manager.
Opening a restaurant had been a 3-year effort using their life savings, with a focus on serving meals made from ingredients grown locally or what Cherney called “community-supported agriculture.”
Due to unfortunate timing of signing a lease weeks before the pandemic led to lockdown, Peasants Feast opened April 1 as a takeout restaurant.
“We have never ever ever opened the dining room. No one has ever eaten inside except my kids and my employees,” he said.
When Santa Barbara County entered a tier that allowed limited indoor dining, Peasants Feast still didn’t have its new tables ready, so kept using to-go containers.
“By the time the tables were done, it was time to lockdown again,” said Cherney, who had to furlough some of his employees for the latest lockdown.
The gathering where Cherney and workers typically make their prep lists, place orders and bond landed Peasants Feast in hot water.
“It’s the calmest time in any restaurant,” Cherney said.
But he has been told the state rules temporarily prohibit anyone eating in the restaurant or anywhere on the premises despite the fact they otherwise work together for hours at a time.
This has meant the Cherneys’ children, who do remote learning from site, have their lunch breaks in the car, he said.
In the busy tourist town, restaurateurs have had to chase away customers trying to find a place to sit and eat outside.
“It’s so anti-hospitable,” Cherney said.
The alleged violations occurred Dec. 10, with a letter arriving in the mail on Dec. 17.
The letter claims to be “a notice of violation” but also says it serves as a written warning without any fines.
Specifically, an agent wrote the form that “6 customers were observed eating/drinking/being served while seated inside the premises in violation of the Governor’s Covid-19 orders.”
“This notice is not a disciplinary action, and does give rise to any rights of hearing or appeal. It is intended to serve as notice of violation found to be occurring on or about an ABC licensed premise,” the letter says.
ABC could still file an administrative accusation against the license, according to the letter.
On Sunday, the restaurant’s patio remained empty of furniture and diners. A server took orders from a table that blocked access to both the restaurant and patio.
However, nearby in common areas, visitors sat shoulder to shoulder on a brick planter not linked to any business.
Cherney said his focus will remain on food, not fighting the state.
“We’re not those kind of people.We’re going to keep doing what we do, and abide by the rules doing takeout as long as we have to,” he said. “As soon as we can open up the front patio again, we’ll be doing that.”
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.