Chambana Sun

Jeff Buckler, a restaurant owner in Champaign, has chosen to keep his restaurant open despite a mandate to halt his dine-in service, a decision that is costing him hundreds of dollars a day in fines.

His attorney, Thomas DeVore, posted a video on his Facebook page of Buckler being interviewed on Fox and Friends.

“COVID rates are down. Go to Walmarts, go to Targets, go to any other shopping mall and it’s packed beyond belief,” Buckler said.

Buckler, who owns Lil Buford's Bar & Grill, said that there are hundreds of restaurants that have been shut down in Champaign.

“There’s thousands of servers and cooks and bartenders out of work. People are starving and it’s going to get bad here soon,” he said.

Wintertime is the toughest season for restaurants and the current COVID-19 regulations will devastate many eateries. 

“It makes it impossible to carry out our work during winter,” he said.

Of the 103 counties in Illinois, just three are forcing restaurants to shut down their dine-in service, Buckler said. The rest of the counties are permitting restaurants to operate as normal.

“If I drive five miles south of my restaurant, everything is open. We can go get pizza or have a burger inside a bar. It's just Champaign County for some reason,” he said.

Buckler went on to explain that COVID-19 rates in Champaign are extremely low – less than 2 percent. 

“Covid is dangerous, I get it. But if your rates are below 2 percent, what’s the deal?” he said.

Despite health inspectors showing up at Buckler’s restaurant daily and mounting fines, Buckler still refuses to close his restaurant.