Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski has issued an emergency order temporarily modifying hours of all classed liquor license holders, to include bars, bar/restaurants, and offsale to close daily at 11:00 PM. This action goes into effect the evening of Saturday, November 07, 2020 at 11:00 PM and will be in place until Monday, December 01 at 6:00 AM.
The Mayor has been in constant communication with liquor license holders and has had multiple online meetings with business owners to listen to their thoughts and concerns and provide updated guidelines and information. Mayor Bochenski met with liquor license holders this afternoon in advance of issuing the emergency order where he listened to their perspective and communicated his reasoning for the emergency order. “The emergency order is short term and will expire at the end of the month. We are working with our partners in East Grand Forks on having a similar policy and message on both sides of the river,” said Mayor Bochenski.
“East Grand Forks and Grand Forks operate as a single community in commerce, healthcare, social life, worship, higher education, and in many other ways. Numbers of COVID-19 cases have been increasing in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks at a steady pace for over a month,” said East Grand Forks Mayor Steve Gander. “I will be asking East Grand Forks bars and restaurants to also voluntarily close at 11:00 PM for the remainder of November and to do our part in this effort. Working together we can manage this infection in our community until the pandemic subsides.”
“This is another step to limit opportunities for the congregation of many different social groups in high exposure environments. Reducing opportunities like this will help slow the spread and reduce the strain on our health care and school systems. Both are critical to keeping our community healthy and our economy going,” said Mayor Bochenski. “I placed this order in conjunction with the state appropriating up to $54 million of CARES funding offering $25,000 in Economic Resiliency Grants per hospitality establishment. Applications are expected to open November 16.”
“This has been and will be a strenuous time for our bars and restaurants as they have taken on a disproportionate share of the economic burden for the well-being of the community. They have supported all of us in our time of need. It is important that we are there for them. Citizens should make a concerted effort to support their local bars and restaurants by ordering through take-out, delivery, and curbside pick-up options as well as in-person dining in a safe and responsible manner,” said Mayor Bochenski. “We continue to use a number of mitigation strategies to slow the spread. I strongly urge the citizens of Grand Forks to continue to practice good COVID safe behavior like keeping your social circles small, washing your hands, physical distancing, wearing a mask, and sanitizing frequently used surfaces. With the holiday season coming up, we need to be intentional and focus on doing these things to slow the spread so we can safely engage with family and friends during the holidays.”
