Judge orders restaurant to cease operations in mask dispute

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) – A Jackson County judge has ordered a suburban Kansas City restaurant to cease operations in the wake of its owner’s defiance of a mask mandate intended to fight the spread of COVID-19.

Earlier this month, Judge James Kanatazar ordered Rae’s Cafe in Blue Springs to temporarily close after owner Amanda Wohletz ignored a health department order to close because of repeated violations of the county’s indoor mask requirement.

On Thursday, Judge Jennifer Phillips barred the restaurant from operating, rejecting Wohletz’s argument of medical exemptions and that the restaurant could skirt the mandate by operating as a private club.