Three more McHenry County businesses charged with COVID-19 masking violations

The three latest businesses charged with COVID-19 masking violations by the McHenry County Department of Health are Butterfly Spa in Crystal Lake, Dilars Cafe in Richmond and Kunes Country, a car dealership in Woodstock.

Butterfly Spa pleaded guilty March 18 to its charges, Kunes Country will appear in court Thursday and Dilars Cafe will follow on April 22, but the restaurant’s owner said they may try to fight the charges as he feels they are “unfair.”

“The small businesses are getting hurt anyway, and now, this is gonna hurt them even more,” Dilars Cafe owner Adnan Cemail said in an interview Wednesday. “I think the whole thing is unfair.”

Cemail estimated that he lost 72% of his business compared to previous years because of COVID-19.

Dilars Cafe was visited by the health department twice in November, twice in December and twice in February, all of which were in response to a complaint from the public or as a follow-up from the previous visit, according to documents obtained by the Northwest Herald through a Freedom of Information Act request.

During both visits in November, the health department reported observing at least one employee and at least one customer not wearing a mask and indoor dining continuing despite a ban at the time, according to the documents. The health department officials who conducted the two December visits did not report any masking violations, but noted indoor dining was still taking place.

In the first February visit, it was noted that an employee was not wearing a mask while interacting with a customer who was paying for his meal at the cash register and that a kitchen staff member had a mask around his neck to pull up when within 6 feet of another person, according to the documents.

“That’s debatable,” Cemail said in response to the allegations of an unmasked employee interacting with a customer, adding that he may not have been at the restaurant when it occurred.

He said he strongly encourages all of his employees to wear masks, but allows them to take breaks when they are not close to people.

Cemail initially said he would like to plead not guilty, as he feels his business has done nothing wrong, but later said he would consult with his attorney on the best course of action.

Butterfly Spa was the first of these three businesses to plead guilty to the charges brought against them when they appeared in court March 18, according to public McHenry County court records. They were required to pay a $75 fine plus court fees, totaling $179.

The spa was unable to be reached for comment after multiple attempts Wednesday; the Kunes Country car dealership declined to comment.

Butterfly Spa was visited by the McHenry County health department two times, once in October and once at the beginning of March, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

In October, representatives of the health department spoke with the spa’s owner Anna Piekunko who said she uses a mask only when performing “body art services” on clients, but will wear one otherwise if a client requests that she do so, according to reports of the visit. She said she was not aware that a law had been put into place requiring the use of face masks in businesses.

When the health department returned after receiving a second complaint from a member of the public in March, the owner was still not using a face mask and an employee and customer were also not wearing face masks, according to the report. The owner said they still were not enforcing the use of face masks for employees or customers.

Kunes Country Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Woodstock, a local car dealership, became the most recent business to be charged when a notice to appear in court was issued March 10, documents show. Its first court appearance is scheduled for Thursday.

The health department visited Kunes Country a total of six times between late August and early March. Employees were not wearing face masks in the first August visit, which was remedied in a follow-up visit from the health department.

The health department responded to another complaint about face masks in November, observed two unmasked customers and issued a notice to disperse, which requires some or all customers to leave the business. Again, no violations were reported during the follow-up visit a few days later.

In a January visit, a few employees were not wearing face masks while sitting about 6 feet apart from one another, but they put them on upon seeing the health department inspector, according to the documents. Other employees were wearing masks and staying a safe distance apart and the inspector noted that the business was making “reasonable efforts to enforce face masking.”

In February, the health department received a complaint from someone who said the business’ employees were using their walkie-talkies to warn each other when inspectors were on site, according to the documents. The health department did not return to Kunes Country until March 4 when the business was hosting a large promotional event. They observed multiple customers and employees without masks on and subsequently sent the business a notice to appear in court.