Eatery 'Very Upset' With Pritzker's New Will Co. Regulations

PLAINFIELD, IL — The owner of Steve Buresh's Cheesecake Store & Sandwich Shop, a popular eatery in Plainfield, is not pleased with Gov. J.B. Pritzker's decision to suspend indoor dining at restaurants and bars across Will and Kankakee counties after coronavirus cases went up in the region.

"This is not justified,"Steve Buresh said. "There are too many other places that can spread this. Why pick on us when we clean constantly?"

The governor made the announcement Monday and the latest regulations will take effect on Wednesday. According to him, if the numbers improve, there's a chance that the harsh measures affecting the food and beverage industry could be eased in a couple of weeks.

Buresh said he has accommodations for outdoor dining as well, but he recently hired new employees for indoor dining and now "it's all a mess again." He has taken multiple measures to ensure safety since the pandemic hit in March.

"I’m very upset. I put so much money into barriers and cleaning products and thermometers and other protection. I need to make all that money back," he said. "I’m putting my own retirement money into keeping this dream alive."

In light of the new regulations, the eatery has pushed all the tables together to create a larger pickup area, to prevent large groups of people from gathering outside.

Buresh is a Romeoville resident, but since he opened this restaurant six years ago, Plainfield has "become my second home," he told Patch in an earlier interview. He has always gone out of his way to help the community and today, he said his diners are as "mad" about this new situation as he is.

"Pritzker needs to focus on large scale places. Not us small cafes," he said.

He said he is yet to find out if this affects his lunchtime sales or not, but he is asking his guests to "stay with me."

"All this doesn’t change the quality of my food," Buresh said.

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