Bedford bakery to challenge its $500 COVID-19 fine | Coronavirus – The Union Leader

A Bedford bakery is challenging a fine it received from the Attorney Generals Office for alleged COVID-19 violations.

The mask mandate goes against my inspiration for starting this business to build a face-to-face community space, and I believe people who make the choice to come in and enjoy that environment should have the right to do so, Alexa Firman, owner of Simply Delicious Baking Co., said in a statement.

Simply Delicious Baking Co. was fined $500 for repeatedly failing to ensure employees wore masks, according to a letter from Associate Attorney General Anne M. Edwards.

I opened my bakery coffee shop late last year to bring our community together and provide a comfortable space for people to gather I have many loyal customers who greatly value the freedom they have to gather here who are supporting me, Firman said.

She said her business has taken precautions to keep the space safe, including social distancing, frequent sanitizing and offering curbside takeout.

According to Edwards letter, a health inspector visited the Bedford bakery in July after receiving complaints. The inspector witnessed employees not wearing masks and the owner refused the inspectors direction to make them put on masks.

Firman said Tuesday that she received a warning in July, and there was no real follow-up until the fine was issued last week.

I was a bit surprised to get this letter from the Attorney Generals Office, said Firman, who operates the bakery with backup from her mother.

Both of them were comfortable without the use of masks, she said, adding Simply Delicious has received a lot of support from customers who feel the same way. However, since Gov. Sununu issued the statewide mask mandate on Nov. 19, Firman said she and her mother have both transitioned to wearing masks at the bakery.

Firmans attorney reached out to the Liberty Defense Fund of New Hampshire, a nonprofit organization based in Mont Vernon created in June.

Thomas McLeod, chairman of the Liberty Defense Fund of New Hampshire, said his organization will be providing financial support for Firman as she contests the fine.

McLeod said that Firmans fine for operating in violation of one of the governors emergency orders does not pertain to the new statewide mask mandate.

This was based on the old order in which, number one, we felt were vague and kind of difficult to follow because it is difficult to know what is mandatory and what is just a guideline, McLeod said on Tuesday. They are written as if they are guidelines; that is the first issue.

In the violation letters, Edwards said that despite the terms guideline and guidance, businesses are required to comply with the governors emergency orders, and that violations are taken very seriously.

McLeod said that businesses should have the freedom to take into consideration their own individual circumstances in deciding how to operate.

According to the New Hampshire Secretary of States website, two of the funds incorporators are former state representatives Andrew J. Manuse of Derry and Joseph Hoell Jr. of Dunbarton, who helped organize rallies last spring protesting the governors stay-at-home order.

A hearing for Firman will be scheduled with the Attorney Generals Office, according to McLeod. If the issue is not resolved there, it could move to a court hearing, he said.

Simply Delicious Baking Co. was one of three restaurants fined and two others warned for violations last week. This week, Grumpys Bar and Grill in Plaistow was fined a $1,500 civil penalty for various violations. White Mountain Tavern in Lincoln faces a fine of $1,000. Loudon Village Country Store was fined $2,000.

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Bedford bakery to challenge its $500 COVID-19 fine | Coronavirus - The Union Leader