California pub tries to keep calm, carry on with virus rules

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — By most measures of what keeps a pub afloat, the coronavirus pandemic should already have Ye Olde King's Head on its last kegs.

The British restaurant and bar in seaside Southern California has been battered the past nine months. It was in the process of adapting to new restrictions that took effect Friday that would further crimp its recovery even as the prospect of a stay-home order loomed that could cripple the business.

“It’s not worth thinking about," said operations manager Lisa Powers, who has guided the 46-year-old institution through an ever-changing set of public health orders. “Nobody's going to survive without help from the federal government if there's another lockdown.”

The surge of cases in Los Angeles County is exploding at a rate even local public health officials didn't seem to contemplate on Tuesday, when they gave businesses three days to adopt new restrictions that force restaurants to halve the outdoor capacity many established to stay afloat because indoor service was banned. Restaurants and nonessential retail must close at 10 p.m.

On Wednesday, LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that by early December the county of 10 million people could reach a daily average of 4,000 cases that would require restaurants to only offer takeout meals. She said she didn't think that outcome was inevitable.

The next day, as daily cases topped 5,000, county health officer Dr. Muntu Davis said by Sunday the county could surpass a daily average of 4,500 cases that would trigger a shutdown.

The latest surge comes as public health officials across the U.S. raise the alarm about out-of-control transmission of the virus, strengthen restrictions and urge people against holding large Thanksgiving gatherings.

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