Calgary coffee shop reprimanded by AHS again for breaking COVID-19 rules

A Calgary coffee shop has been ordered to comply with the province's COVID-19 regulations, months after it was ordered to suspend services due to breaking seating rulesduring the pandemic.

In May, Purple Perk in Mission was ordered to close its patio and dine-in services after previously being warned about crowds on its patio. At the time, pandemic rules only permitted take-out service.

The coffee shop's owner,Paul Overholt, was also criticized at the time for sending a Hitler meme to a doctor who expressed her concerns via email that his cafe wasn't following the guidelines.

In an order dated Sept. 8, an Alberta Health Services officer wrote that he had observed that tables on the outdoor patio and inside the dining room of Purple Perk were less than two metres apart, and that customers wereseated directly back-to-back and side-by-side in both areas.

The coffee shop was ordered to remove as many tables and chairs as necessary to ensure there is at least two metres between each dining party.

The patio has benches which are bolted to the ground, so the order said either physical barriers must be installed or seats must be clearly marked to ensure people sit at least two metres apart.

The coffee shop owner must also complete the government's relaunch plan template, and provide details of all risk-mitigation measures that are being implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to be submitted to an AHS official for review.

Purple Perk has until Sept. 14 to comply with the order.