INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — After a legal battle with Jackson County over refusal to comply with the County health order, Rae's Cafe owner Amanda Wohletz said she is moving her business from Blue Springs to Independence.
Currently, the City of Independence does not have a mask mandate in place.
Wohletz announced the move, alongside Independence City council members Mike Huff and Mike Steinmeyer, Wednesday.
Jackson County first ordered the restaurant to close down on Sept. 3, after it received multiple complaints from people about the mask violations.
The following day Wohletz closed the restaurant to the public and reopened as a private club.
In return, the county sought a temporary restraining order to shut the restaurant down. That order was originally granted on Sept. 10.
After hearing testimony from a lawyer for Wohletz and Deborah Sees, director of Jackson County Environmental Health, a Jackson County Circuit Court judge ruled the restraining order should stay in place until the business complied with the mandate.
Since then, Councilmembers Huff and Steinmeyer said multiple municipalities, including their own, have reached out to Wohletz encouraging her to move her business.
"I kept in touch with Amanda almost daily trying to persuade her that Independence was a great home for her, and evidently I succeeded," Huff said.
Rae's Cafe's new location will be in what was going to open as a new Responders Grill and Bar location along Highway 291.
Huff said the switch worked out nicely for several reasons.
"They’ve been trying to open up since pre-COVID, quite a while and they couldn’t get the staffing and so we were able to work a deal out between Amanda and them and then also the strip mall owner," Huff said.
Steinmeyer said the City is not assisting with the move financially.
"The only investment we will make is taking her application, letting her apply like any other business and working with her to get everything in place for her to open the doors," Steinmeyer said.
Wohletz said she sees the move as a fresh start.
"I am glad to have the opportunity to get back open, myself my staff, everyone is excited for that opportunity just to go back to normal life," Wohletz said.
Steinmeyer said he hopes the community will welcome the business with open arms.
"I'm hoping that the challenge will go out today to just be an accepting community, loving community and welcome this new business into our community," Steinmeyer said.
Wohletz wasn't comfortable speaking about masks on camera during the news conference so the councilmen spoke for her and said it's not fair for small businesses to have to police the mandates.
"Here in Independence it’s the right to wear it or the right not to wear it, same with the vaccine, it’s your deal to decide that, if you are not comfortable then don’t patronize," Huff said.
The council members said the move is a win for the City considering it's been difficult in recent years to get business to come there.
Wohletz currently doesn't have a health permit or business license, but she said she will be in the process of getting them soon.
She hasn't announced an opening day yet.
