Bars Shuttered, Restaurants Emptied, and Deadlines Extended to Combat Spread of COVID-19

Executive Order 118. Governor Cooper issued Executive Order 118 on Tuesday, directing bars to close and restricting restaurants to selling food only for carry-out, drive through, delivery, and onsite consumption in outdoor seating areas, subject to mass gathering seating restrictions. Restaurants are broadly defined to include permitted food establishments, cafeterias, food halls, dining halls, food kiosks at airports and shopping centers or educational institutions, food courts, and private or members-only clubs where food and beverages may be consumed on premises. The order does not affect the sale or distribution of prepared food by grocery stores, pharmacies, convenience stores, gas stations, or charitable food distribution sites. It does, however, bar sit-down food or beverage services within those facilities. Note: The same day this order was issued, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) entered an Order of Abatement of Imminent Hazard that restricted restaurants to carry-out, drive-through, and delivery. The abatement order did not permit onsite consumption in outdoor eating areas. As explained in this frequently asked questions document, restaurants thus were required by the DHHS order to close all seating areas. Legal authority. During a state of emergency, the Governor may impose by declaration certain prohibitions in the emergency area. G.S. 166A-19.30(c). The Governor has such authority if he or she determines that local control is insufficient to protect lives or property because, for example, the emergency crosses jurisdictional boundaries and local measures are conflicting or uncoordinated in a way that severely hampers protection efforts. Id. The [...]