LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Kentucky coffee shop’s food license is reinstated. 

What You Need To Know

  • Lexington coffee shop gets food license reinstated

  • Brewed was at the center of a legal battle over operating during the indoor dining ban

  • The license was reinstated Wednesday

  • Gov. Beshear's indoor dining order expires Monday at 11:59 p.m.

Brewed, a coffee shop in Lexington is one of the few dining places that chose not to follow the statewide restrictions that went into effect on Nov. 20.

On Nov. 25, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department revoked Brewed’s food license and a legal battle followed.

“Without the food license we’re an event venue, that’s the only thing we could be and event venues under the most recent mandate have different rules than restaurants, and one of which is, event venues still can’t prepare food. But you can go in and sit down in event venues and you can actually eat inside event venues,” said Andrew Cooperrider, owner of Brewed.

Early December, a judge ordered the coffee house owner to halt indoor dining. 

“Food trucks realizing that what was going on started pulling up outside and they were selling food and people were able to come in and eat said food,” Cooperrider said. The health department didn’t like that too much because we were showing how much, the inconsistencies and the mandates and orders that create situations like this because they’re being rote with a couple of people in the room, not an all-encompassing effective mandate.”

On Wednesday, the health inspector gave a 99 score reinstating their license.

“Because of that they (the health department) wanted us to stop it (having people buy from food trucks and return inside to eat) but they only want to get us to stop doing that would be to reissue our food license to make us a restaurant again otherwise we’d still be under the event venue rules,” Cooperrider said.

So now, his customers are coming in to use his facility, but all coffee sipping and eating are outdoors, days before the restrictions are lifted.

“I’m not doing indoor dining. No,” Cooperrider said. “But once again the mandate says you cannot eat indoors, you can sit indoors. So right now because of what’s allowed you can come in here, you can sit down do your work, work on your computer whatever what have you. Just so you drink your coffee, you have to run outside, and then you can come back in and sit down and work.”

Cooperrider said the stance he’s taking is to survive as a small business.

“They have to understand that there has been no consideration for restaurants,” Cooperrider said. “And what I mean by that is not just ‘Oh sorry it’s unfortunate you have to close.’ No, I mean literally ‘hey a heads up a couple of days before would have been nice’ instead of hours before you’re telling the Kentucky Restaurant Association you’re not going to close indoor dining. We’ve got a food order, we’ve got our staff scheduled, we’ve got everything prepared. You’re not even considering us or our situation and that’s what’s making us feel like we need to push back because you’re not communicating with us.”

Governor Andy Beshear announced Thursday in a press conference the restrictions will expire on Monday. Indoor dining can resume at 11:59 Monday night.