Washington state revoked the liquor license of a notable fine dining restaurant in Chehalis, WA in mid-December after the owner voiced opposition to COVID-19 mandates and refused to shutter her business during lockdowns.
Laurel Khan, the owner of Mackinaw's Restaurant, says that the state targeted the farm-to-table restaurant by choosing to revoke their liquor license instead of issuing fines for non-compliance, the state's usual form of discipline.
As a result, the world renown chef explained that the local staple and its associated bars and rooms won't survive financially.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Khan has attended freedom rallies across the state and has been an effective voice leading the fight against mandates in her community. The chef believes that the state's decision was personal and questioned why the Seahawks Stadium/Lumen Field gets to keep their licenses when games are packed with non-compliant fans.
"I refuse to follow mandates that I don't believe in," Laurel Khan told The Ari Hoffman Show. "If the state doesn't respect us then why would we respect the state?"
Khan, who has a degree in political science, says that Democratic Governor Inslee's immediate implementation of tyrannical mandates upon small businesses raised red flags and she knew there had to be pushback.
"You can't have small businesses being shutdown and having to follow all these strict rules when you have the big box stores open doing as they please," Khan explained.
Julie Graham, the spokesperson for Cannabis and Liquor Control Board, said that seizing and revoking licenses for failing to comply with COVID-19 guidelines is extremely rare, according to The Chronicle.
"Most of them have been willing to comply and so there have been very few where we've needed to take the step of suspending or removing a license," Graham said. "In this case, that just wasn't working. And, therefore, after a series of progressive actions, the board made the decision to suspend her license."
Four licenses have been canceled in Washington state since the start of the pandemic and 17 have been temporarily suspended, Graham explained.
"It's really a tragedy," Khan said, adding that she has no regrets.
"I stood up for what I believed and I don't regret that I led my team through something we all believed in. I do regret that it will affect my employees' livelihoods, and that part hurts. But there is a plan in place, though," Khan told The Chronicle.
Laurel Khan says that her next move will be running for office, with the hope of unseating Democratic Governor Jay Inslee in the 2024 gubernatorial election.
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