Update: Supporters of Marlena’s Bistro see the closure of a restaurant as the last fight for ‘freedom’ in the pandemic
HOLLAND, MI – Supporters of a Dutch woman closed her restaurant, hoping that a judge would release her from prison after she defied state coronavirus orders that closed dinner services for months.
Supporters placed boards at the entrances to Marlena’s Bistro and Pizzeria, as well as a “Fulfilled” sign on the commercial front, on the evening of Friday, March 19, on the advice of a lawyer representing Marlena Pavlos-Hackney.
She was sentenced to prison on Friday by Ingham County Circuit Judge Rosemarie E. Aquilina, pending the payment of a $ 7,500 fine and a determination by the state attorney general’s office that her restaurant was closed.
Pavlos-Hackney has been at odds with the state for months because of his refusal to follow the state’s ban on dinner services in November. She would also have refused to impose the use of masks and social detachment.
Related: Michigan restaurant owner is expected to remain in prison on charges of violating COVID-19 orders
Her food license was suspended earlier this year, but she continued to operate. She was arrested Friday morning at a traffic stop.
Holly Shashaguay, a Pavlos-Hackney supporter, said she helped close the restaurant on Friday night on the advice of attorney Robert Baker, who intervened to represent Pavlos-Hackney on Friday.
The restaurant was open for business on Friday, when employees ran the restaurant, but not on Saturday.
“When I painted that ‘Fulfilled’ sign, I was crying the whole time,” said Shashaguay. “We didn’t want to, but we did.”
Baker, contacted on Saturday, said he warned Pavlos-Hackney that the best way would be to get out of prison and then fight a bigger legal battle.
“There is no benefit to her being in prison,” he said. “She really didn’t understand the ramifications of what was falling apart.”
Baker said he was hopeful that she would be released on Saturday, but said it could be after the weekend.
Baker said one legal route he is exploring is whether the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has adequate jurisdiction over restaurants and coronavirus-related issues.
A rally in support of Pavlos-Hackney is planned for Saturday in front of the restaurant.
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