PORT ORCHARD – For the second time, a hearing concerning $132,000 in fines issued by the state against That One Place restaurant for violating COVID-19 service restrictions did not take place when restaurant owner Craig Kenady failed to appear.
The state Department of Labor & Industries fined the Port Orchard restaurant’s owner for reportedly serving customers indoors on days when such service was barred by Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 proclamation.
“Mr. Kenady failed to appear for this afternoon’s conference,” state Department of Labor and Industries Dina Lorraine spokesperson said Monday. The proceeding was scheduled to address Kenady’s appeal of the fines L&I levied against him.
“I wasn’t served with anything,” Kenady told Kitsap Daily News on Monday. “Nobody has attempted to contact me from there at all.”
“Since I told [state attorney] Michael Hall to never contact me again without [26th Legislative District state representative] Jesse Young in the conversation, I haven’t heard from them,” Kenady said.
“It seems very strange that we haven’t been served with these hearing dates and times. I found out about this one from [Kitsap Daily News], and the last one from my mother who lives in Arizona and isn’t even a representative of our company,” he said.
“I figured they realized it wasn’t going to fly in real court anyways [sic], so they gave up.”
The state has not given up on the fines, however.
The Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, which is handling the matter, has scheduled the next proceeding for May 19. In the event the proceeding does not happen then, Kenady could suffer expensive consequences.
“If Mr. Kenady does not appear at that next time, his appeal may be dismissed and the penalties would become final,” Lorraine said.
Notice of the hearings was sent by the appeals board to the restaurant’s address, which also is reflected in the Secretary of State office’s records, Michael Hall, a lawyer for the attorney general’s office, said.
Craig Kenady, the owner of That One Place restaurant in Port Orchard, has been fined $132,000 by the state’s Department of Labor & Industries for violating Gov. Inslee’s COVID-19 service restrictions. (File photo) .
