Shawn Garrity of Arundel staples a sign of support for the Sunday River Brewing Co. before the restaurant opened Tuesday morning. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
BETHEL — As about 15 people lined up to enter the Sunday River Brewing Co. on Tuesday morning, Ron Savage, a co-owner, told his customers “things are happening” in Augusta that would result in changes to state policy starting on Wednesday.
He said the brew pub, which got in hot water for opening last week in defiance of shutdown orders issued by Gov. Janet Mills, would be able to get its liquor license back.
It’s possible he may be right.
State Sen. Lisa Keim, a Dixfield Republican, said there’s talk of easing the restrictions imposed to control the spread of a deadly new disease, perhaps as soon as Wednesday.
It is not clear what plans, if any, may be in the works in the state capital for revisions to the orders related to small businesses and restaurants.
“A little bit of movement is coming,” she said.
Keim said Mills may loosen guidelines for some businesses, including restaurants, some gyms and campgrounds.
“It’d be great if she made that announcement Wednesday,” Keim said.
She said she’s been hearing constantly from constituents who are frustrated, worried and upset.
In Bethel alone, she said, four restaurants are never going to reopen. Other businesses may join them if something doesn’t change soon, Keim said.
“Lives are being destroyed,” she said, as businesses that people have poured their time and money into for years falter and fail in the face of the economic shutdown.
Keim said she’s worried, too, about the stress so many are feeling as well as delayed health care and other necessities.
She said she understands the desire to protect people from COVID-19, but it’s important that society weigh many factors, not just a desire to help prevent the disease, as rules are established to deal with the threat posed by the pandemic.
Keim said that people such as Rick Savage have value because they are “willing to take it on the chin” to pursue changes that others perhaps accept too easily.
People like that, she said, “end up pushing the envelope to make things happen.”
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