Christie Aschwanden / KHN
On a sunny Saturday this month, Ruth Hatfield was sitting with a friend’s dog on a sidewalk bench in downtown Grand Junction. Back home in Snowmass Village, 120 miles away through winding Rocky Mountain roadways, local officials had just shut down indoor restaurant dining as COVID-19 cases reached some of the highest levels in Colorado.
Here in Grand Junction, though, restaurants were open, and Hatfield had sought out those with the local health department’s “5-star certifications,” a designation meant to reassure people it is safe to patronize businesses during the pandemic. Those 5-star restaurants are part of an innovative program that allows businesses that agree to follow certain public health protocols to be open with less stringent rules than would ordinarily apply.
Christie Aschwanden | KHN
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. On a sunny Saturday, Ruth Hatfield was sitting with a friend’s dog on a sidewalk bench in downtown Grand Junction.
Back home in Snowmass Village, 120 miles away through winding Rocky Mountain roadways, officials had just shut down indoor restaurant dining as the number of coronavirus cases reached some of the highest levels in Colorado.
In Grand Junction, though, restaurants were open. And Hatfield had sought out those with the health department’s “5-star certifications,” a designation meant to reassure people it is safe to patronize businesses during the pandemic. Those restaurants are part of an innovative program that allows businesses that agree to follow certain public health protocols to be open with less stringent rules than would ordinarily apply.
Christie Aschwanden/KHN
Requirements for Mesa County’s 5-star program include mask enforcement for employees and customers, regular cleaning schedules, hand sanitizing stations and spacing of furniture.
On a sunny Saturday in January, Ruth Hatfield was sitting with a friend’s dog on a sidewalk bench in downtown Grand Junction. Back home in Snowmass Village, 120 miles away through winding Rocky Mountain roadways, local officials had just shut down indoor restaurant dining as COVID-19 cases reached some of the highest levels in Colorado.
Here in Grand Junction, though, restaurants were open, and Hatfield had sought out those with the local health department’s “5-star certifications,” a designation meant to reassure people it is safe to patronize businesses during the pandemic.
Throwback Thursday: Steak at Merk’s
News Journal
This is Merk’s Restaurant, sometime before the late 1930s. Can you tell us more? Share it at info@wnewsj.com. The photo is courtesy of the Clinton County Historical Society. Like this image? Reproduction copies of this photo are available by calling the History Center. For more info, visit www.clintoncountyhistory.org; follow them on Facebook @ClintonCountyHistory; or call 937-382-4684.
Clinton County History Center
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