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PJ’s defies governor, reopens during pandemic

PJ’s Village Pub has made major adjustments amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the governor’s closure of bars with the type of license PJ’s has, with an employee fundraiser helping shoulder the burden. VVN/Jason W. Brooks

PJ’s Village Pub has made major adjustments amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the governor’s closure of bars with the type of license PJ’s has, with an employee fundraiser helping shoulder the burden. VVN/Jason W. Brooks

VILLAGE OF OAK CREEK – In late February, when bars, pubs, cafés and restaurants around the world discussed shutting down due to COVID-19, Nicole Lehnertz was thinking about St. Patrick’s Day.

“We go the extra mile for our customers, on that holiday in particular,” Lehnertz said. “And we usually set up tents and do a lot. We pre-book well in advance. This year, no one would refund our deposits.”

That was the start of a tumultuous last several months for Lehnertz, the manager of PJ’s Village Pub in the Village of Oak Creek.

The June 29 executive order from Gov. Doug Ducey that closed all bars with Series 6 or Series 7 liquor licenses for 30 days, made it even tougher for PJ’s and many other bars to continue to stay afloat financially.

“We qualified for a Paycheck Protection Program loan for the business after we shut down in March, and it took until May 1 to receive that money,” Lehnertz said. “But for our 16 employees, about half didn’t qualify for unemployment, so we were grateful to re-open.”

Restaurants and most other types of Arizona businesses have been allowed to remain open.

PJ’s prides itself on its food, but owner John Ehalt holds a Series 6 license, rather than the Series 12 that is obtained and kept by generating at least 40% of its gross revenue from food sales.

Lehnertz met with owner Ehalt and decided to re-open anyway, despite having been warned by an Arizona Liquor Board official in late June that their license could be in jeopardy.

PJs re-opened the week of July 27 with full alcohol and food sales, masked employees and seating at half of its tables, although seating isn’t regulated at the bar. PJs has no place to store tables and chairs, so wait staff simply seats patrons as far apart as possible.

As summarized in a July 29 posting on the PJ's Village Pub Facebook page, "We hope anyone knows we are well aware of the governor's orders and that we have taken the time to continue to do our homework before reopening. We have spoken directly to YCSO, the Yavapai Health Department and the Department of Liqour before deciding to open

"We invite anyone inside that would like us to explain how our model works and has worked for years. I guess our 7 Gold Plate awards given to us by the Yavapai Health Department doesn't make it clear to some that we absolutely know how to operate a safe and clean atmosphere."

Patrons are reminded by a sign on the door that masks aren’t required in the Village of Oak Creek or anywhere else in unincorporated Yavapai County.

Ducey also issued a 50% restaurant occupancy maximum, meaning PJs can only have 61 customers at one time.

She said two establishments in Cottonwood that have Series 6 liquor licenses and have remained open. Between that and the governor not providing any metrics to warrant re-opening of bars, Lehnertz and Ehalt reopened with reduced hours, being open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. only.

“We’re confident that no one is going to walk in and take our liquor license away,” Lehnertz said. “At most, a complaint filed with the Liquor Board could result in someone telling us to close that day, which we would, and we’d take it from there.”

After a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in Arizona and other states in early June, governors started looking at ways to slow the spread. On June 29, Ducey closed Series 6 and Series 7 liquor-license bars, along with gyms, water parks, movie theaters and prohibited tubing on rivers.

As Lehnertz and many other bar staff and owners in Arizona quickly learned, a business cannot simply pivot and start making and selling food only: there is a defined, lengthy set of steps to qualify for a Series 12 liquor license.

Lehnertz immediately set up a GoFundMe.com account for PJ’s employees, with a goal of raising about $1,000 for each of its 16 employees. Within one week, the account was nearly halfway to that goal.

Lehnertz said things hadn’t really picked up when PJs reopened in May. March and April are typically the busiest months of the first half of each year, but this May was especially slow amid COVID-19 concerns.

“We should be making about $110,000 in May, but this year was between $50,000 and $60,000,” she said. “We have seen an uptick in the number of to-go orders.”

Lehnertz said she shares the anger of many bar managers and owners who feel Ducey targeted all bars across the state because of his well-publicized spat with some Scottsdale-area establishments that were accused of not following all COVID-19 precautions.

Lehnertz said longtime customers and/or those who donate to the GoFundMe account are appreciated.

“We thank our customers for their support,” Lehnertz said. “This has been an awkward time for our employees. It’s a lot of pressure.”

Six miles up the road in the Hillside Sedona Shopping Center, Ian Juul had a much different experience. Juul said police arrived to ensure he and his staff were closed and were leaving the premises June 29.

Yavapai County Supervisor Randy Garrison said sheriff’s deputies are the ones who would be called to the Village of Oak Creek for a State Liquor Board-initiated complaint or violation.

Ehalt and Juul joined with Wes and Rebecca Schemmer of Vino Di Sedona and Elmer Pineda of the Old Corral Bar in Cornville, along with 59 other Arizona bar owners, suing Ducey over the closure of Series 6 and 7 bars, which the governor extended until Aug. 9.

That suit was still not adjudicated as of Wednesday, July 29.


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