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Some bar owners in Nashville are pushing back against city officials and the coronavirus restrictions in place for businesses.
Four honky tonk bars — The Local, Harry O's Steakhouse, Honky Tonk Central and Kid Rock's Big Ass Honky Tonk and Steakhouse — are seeking a temporary restraining order against Mayor John Cooper, Nashville Director of Health Dr. Michael C. Caldwell and the Metro Beer Board, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday.
The lawsuit comes after city officials announced last Thursday that bars in Nashville will be closed for at least two weeks after the city reported a spike in positive coronavirus cases. Mayor Cooper pointed to bars as a source of a "record number of clusters."
Nashville health workers traced at least 30 new infections across 10 different bars in the city, according to the head of the city's coronavirus task force Dr. Alex Jahangir.
The plaintiffs said "they are in need of immediate injunctive relief" due to the "severe financial strain" the city placed on their establishments by closing them and are seeking a temporary restraining order with three components.
They want to be excluded from the local order that was announced right before the July Fourth weekend. The lawsuit said that being closed for a minimum of fourteen days, especially when the plaintiffs' businesses are "already on financial shaky ground," would cause the "demise" of their establishments.
In a statement sent to Newsweek, the mayor's press secretary Chris Song said most business owners in Nashville support Cooper's order, "especially those interested in protecting the long-term outlook of Nashville's global tourism economy."
"This past weekend, Metro Government personnel visited four downtown bars that initially failed to comply with a public health order for all Davidson County bars to close for 14 days following a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases," Song said. "We were made aware of their noncompliance by other hospitality industry professionals."
The plaintiffs also want to be protected from the Metro Beer Board after it voted to temporarily suspend beer licenses at four bars in downtown Nashville, including Kid Rock's and Honky Tonk Central. The filing claims both Caldwell and Cooper have retaliated against Timothy Stephen Smith, the owner of Kid Rock's.
The third component they are seeking is to prevent city officials from "continuing to selectively enforce" health orders against businesses. The lawsuit argues that no George Floyd protestors were issued citations for violating the same health order that bars have been handed citations under.
Newsweek reached out to Kid Rock's for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
On Tuesday, Cooper listed a number of other cities and states that have also rolled back reopening plans. He said bar closures are necessary to curb the spread of the virus.
"We are unfortunately not alone in dealing with this difficult acceleration in cases," the mayor said at the health briefing. "We already know from our own experience how to slow down the disease."
As of Tuesday, July 7, Nashville's 14-day average "remains in the red" at 264. In the past 24 hours, Metro health officials reported 149 additional cases of coronavirus in the city.
According to the state's department of health, Tennessee has reported a total of 53,514 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
This story has been updated with a statement from the mayor's office.
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more