Danville Eatery Ends Outdoor Dining After Defying Ban For Weeks

DANVILLE, CA — Danville's Incontro Ristorante has closed to outdoor diners after weeks of defying the state's stay-at-home order, ABC7 reported.

Incontro Ristorante owner Gabe Moufarrej opted to comply this week after his restaurant was shut down by Contra Costa County following repeated warnings from police and county health officials, the station reported. The downtown Danville restaurant received thousands of dollars in defines and "wasted a lot of our time," Joe Doser, county health inspector, told ABC7.

Early last month, Incontro Ristorante restaurant owner Bernadette Moufarrej told NBC Bay Area that the shutdown is unfair and she believes staff could keep customers safe while dining outside.

Outdoor dining was banned under the state's regional stay-at-home order that Contra Costa County adopted on Dec. 6. Personal care services, hair salons and barbershops, and bars were also among the services forced to close.

The stay-at-home order — which covers the nine-county Bay Area plus Santa Cruz and Monterey counties — will likely be extended this week, an Alameda County public health official said Tuesday.

The latest shutdown, "while not entirely unexpected, is depressing and painful for members of the business community," said Dawn Argula, president of the Livermore Valley Chamber of Commerce, last month.

"Nonetheless, we understand and support the rationale for doing so," Argula said. "By now, businesses are keenly aware that their return to economic prosperity is intricately tied to our ability to control the COVID-19 virus."

Read more at ABC7.

— Bay City News service contributed to this report