The exterior of Brannan Cottage Inn and Sam’s General Store in Calistoga. Both businesses are part of the Wine Country for Safe Reopening Coalition, which recently dismissed its lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Brannan Cottage InnThe 50 Wine Country restaurants, wineries and related small businesses that recently sued Gov. Gavin Newsom over the outdoor dining ban dismissed their lawsuit on Thursday.
Ultimately, they got what they wanted, when six days after they filed their suit, Newsom lifted the state’s stay-at-home order and outdoor dining was allowed once again, said Carl Dene, a spokesperson for the group of businesses — the Wine Country Coalition for Safe Reopening — that organized the suit.
“Our fight was one focus: outdoor dining and outdoor wine tasting,” said Dene, who also owns Calistoga cafe Sam’s General Store. “We got it, so we’re good.”
Now, Dene said Napa and Sonoma restaurants and wineries want to focus on reopening and bringing people back to Wine Country. The coalition, which argued that the original outdoor dining ban was arbitrary and unfair in their lawsuit, also wants to make sure another ban doesn’t happen again. By dismissing the lawsuit without prejudice, the coalition could quickly refile it if the state shuts down outdoor dining again in the future.
While some coalition members have asked about continuing the legal fight to seek damages, Dene said the lawsuit was never about that. “It was about getting back to work and being treated fairly and stopping the demonization of our industry,” he said.
Coalition members still hold weekly calls and Zoom meetings, and they plan to work together to advocate for relief for restaurants and wineries, which they say isn’t limited to grants and loans. For example, after the pandemic ends, restaurants need extensions to use their temporary parklets and expanded patios for another year or more as they try to financially catch up, Dene said.
“We now have this great connection between the small business owners in the valley,” he said. “We want to take it from safely reopening to pivoting to recovery.”
Janelle Bitker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: janelle.bitker@sfchronicle.com