Deborah Wohle owns a small, neighborhood bar in Apache Junction, Arizona, called Lucky Strikes. Her business has been financially devastated by COVID-19 lockdowns, and on the one day she opened up to offer takeout services in April, she was charged with a crime.
As a result, Wohle is facing thousands of dollars in fines from the misdemeanor, and from citations issued by the Arizona Department of Liquor. With her business barely surviving, she said she can’t afford to pay, and she doesn’t believe she did anything wrong.
“I’ve never done anything to anybody,” Wohle said. “I’m just a business owner. … I just want to reopen and run my business.”
When Republican Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order in late March shutting down or limiting operations for bars and restaurants, Wohle closed down Lucky Strikes.
Over the next few weeks, however, Wohle said she noticed other bars around the city operating by offering takeout, apparently in compliance with the executive order. Desperate to make ends meet and to enable her employees to work, she decided to do the same. – READ MORE
Listen to the insightful Thomas Paine Podcast Below --