Independent file photo A file photo shows Elsie’s Cafe in Clarkfield in the times before COVID-19. The cafe was among 150 Minnesota businesses that re-opened for indoor service in defiance of Gov. Tim Walz’s executive orders. Cafe Owner Natasha Lynne said takeout food orders alone weren’t enough to keep a restaurant afloat in a small town.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been tough for bars and restaurants — and with indoor dining prohibited for the second time this year, things weren’t getting better, two area business owners said.

“I literally have had three negative balances in my business checking account this month,” said Fred Schmidt, owner of Freddy’s Sports Bar in Lake Benton.

Takeout food sales alone aren’t enough to keep a restaurant afloat in a small town, said Natasha Lynne, owner of Elsie’s Cafe in Clarkfield. “I’m lucky if I get $100 to $200 a day for takeouts.”

Freddy’s bar and Elsie’s Cafe were part of a group of over 150 Minnesota businesses that planned to open Friday in defiance of executive orders from Gov. Tim Walz. Lynne and Schmidt said Monday that their decisions to open for indoor service weren’t just about their right to make a living, but a need to survive.

“We have a right to earn a living,” Lynne said. She said she was worried about being able to pay rent and provide for her children, and that factored into the decision to re-open on Friday.

“Am I scared? Yes and no,” Lynne said of potential consequences for being open in defiance of the governor’s orders. She said a representative from Countryside Public Health Services, the health agency that serves Yellow Medicine, Big Stone, Chippewa, Lac qui Parle and Swift counties, came to the cafe Friday and explained that she was in violation of the executive order.

But while Lynne said she plans to keep Elsie’s Cafe open for indoor dining, Schmidt said he’s closed down the bar except for off-sales, after being contacted by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. The potential penalties for staying open were stiff, including fines or even jail time, he said.

“The risk is too much for me,” he said.

Schmidt said people have supported his business through the pandemic, but not having indoor service hurts.

“Most of my money comes from people at the bar,” he said. Lake Benton being close to the South Dakota border also poses a challenge for the bar, he said. “There has not been a shutdown in Elkton (S.D.) the entire time.”

Lynne was managing the cafe in Clarkfield through the first shutdown of bars and restaurants for COVID-19. When she bought the cafe, the sale became official just two days before new “dial back” restrictions took effect for restaurants in November.

“At first, I was like, OK, I can do this,” Lynne said, but it was a financial struggle.

Lynne said she was surprised by the number of people who came to the cafe on Friday.

“It was chaotic,” she said. Monday’s turnout was closer to normal for the cafe, she said.

Last week, a group of Minnesota businesses called the Reopen Minnesota Coalition said they planned to open in defiance of executive orders aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus. The orders placed restrictions on businesses like bars, restaurants, gyms and indoor entertainment venues. The Minnesota Department of Health has said COVID-19 can easily spread in situations where people are gathered indoors eating, drinking or talking.

But Schmidt and Lynne said they were doing their best to follow social distancing and hygiene guidance while their businesses were open. Lynne said she sanitized the cafe, set tables six feet apart and posted signs asking people to wear masks.

“It’s not like I’m not following the rules,” she said.

Schmidt said he had also followed the rules about bar capacity and seating spacing.

“We believe the virus exists and people are getting sick,” Schmidt said. “But why should one industry bear the weight of the entire shutdown?”

Big box stores, malls and casinos are still open, Lynne said.

“If you’re going to try and shut down, shut down everybody,” she said.

One area business has already seen consequences from reopening for dine-in service. On Friday, the owner of Haven’s Garden restaurant in Lynd was found in civil contempt of court for disobeying a restraining order from a Ramsey County District Court judge. Larvita McFarquhar could be fined $250 for each day her restaurant is open for indoor dining, the court said.

On Monday, McFarquhar posted on Facebook that her business was still open.

Haven’s Garden opened for dine-in service starting with an event the night of Nov. 27. The restaurant’s license was suspended, and later reinstated, by Southwest Health and Human Services. The Minnesota Department of Health is currently suing Haven’s Garden to enforce the executive orders prohibiting indoor dining at bars and restaurants.

Jason Kloss, environmental health manager for Southwest Health and Human Services, said so far Haven’s Garden is the only restaurant in the SWHHS service area that is facing legal action for violating executive orders. Kloss said an SWHHS employee did check out Freddy’s bar and another business in Lake Benton, but neither business was open at the time.

Kloss said the SWHHS health board’s guidance has been to investigate reports of bars and restaurants in violation of the executive orders, and if evidence of a violation was found, to forward the information to the Minnesota Attorney General’s office and the county attorney.