Whistle Stop Café owner Chris Scott and RCMP officer are shown outside the café Wednesday morning. (Screenshot from Facebook video)

By rdnewsNOW staff

Doors locked, access denied

AHS closes down Whistle Stop Café

May 5, 2021 | 11:06 AM

Alberta Health Services has closed down a central Alberta café for repeatedly flaunting public health restrictions.

A video livestreamed to the Whistle Stop Café’s Facebook page morning shows RCMP officers and AHS officials at the scene Wednesday morning.

AHS says no access to the café in Mirror will be permitted until the operator “can demonstrate the ability to comply with not only Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health’s (CMOH) restrictions but also requirements under Alberta’s Public Health Act and Food Regulation.”

AHS said in a statement that, “Every effort has been made to work collaboratively with the operator as well as the property owner to come to a resolution before progressing to further enforcement action. At this time the operator of the Whistle Stop Café has decided not to follow these mandatory restrictions, despite efforts by AHS and other partners, nor have they attempted to work to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.”

Café Owner Chris Scott remains defiant, however.

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“We’re not closing,” he said on the Facebook video. “If people don’t start standing up, it could be you next.”

Wednesday’s closure comes ahead of a large protest event planned at the café this weekend featuring camping and live entertainment.

AHS says it has received 413 complaints from the public about the Whistle Stop Café since January 1.

A closure order for the Whistle Stop Café was first issued on January 22 followed by a court order February 3. A second closure order was issued April 12 along with a suspension of the operator’s food handling permit.

A full closure order for the facility was then issued April 15, requiring the Whistle Stop Café to cease both dine-in and take-out services because of operating without a food handling permit. The operator’s food handling permit was cancelled indefinitely April 16 for failure to comply.

This past weekend, Mounties attended the café and removed its liquor after Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis revoked the establishment’s liquor licence.