Although Raes Cafe's Blue Springs storefront does not look like a Covid-19 battleground, it has become an anti-masking campaigner since Amanda Wohletz, the owner, began a campaign to defy Jackson County mask mandates after the emergence of Delta variant infections.
Wohletz continued to insist despite being issued warnings and citations and having her food permit revoked. She also had to comply with a county health department order to close her doors. Wohletz claimed in court that the mandate requiring everyone aged five to cover their faces when entering indoor public spaces was not constitutionally created.
The restaurant has been closed. A county judge ruled that Wohletz's argument for medical exemptions was rejected and that the restaurant could operate as a private club to avoid the mandate. Raes was also told by the judge to stop operating until it had a valid food permit.
Welcome to Missouri's Covid culture wars.
