Police response to area donut shop for political event highlights mask struggles for businesses

Those are uncomfortable situations for all involved, especially employees, local officials said.

“The fact is, whether you like to wear masks or not, it is a mandate and the businesses are put in a bad situation because they can’t risk being shut down because somebody stopped by and nobody in there was wearing masks,” said Dan Bates, president and CEO of the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.

The mandate, as of November, requires anyone 10 and older to wear a mask inside a business.

State and local health departments are enforcing the various COVID-19 protocols, and violations could result in some level of a shutdown, Bates said.

“If someone from the state comes in, they could shut them down, especially if it’s a restaurant,” he said. “Even if they’re shut down for a couple of days, that’s a couple of days of business. It’s unfortunate because the businesses are put in the position where they’re supposed to be the police, and they really can’t be put in that position.”

Danny and Katie Plazarin opened Holtman’s Donuts on Civic Center Boulevard in West Chester Twp. in 2017, almost eight years after the couple opened a franchise of the family business in Cincinnati’s Over-The-Rhine neighborhood.

“As a business, we have so many hoops we have to constantly jump through to make sure we can stay open and operate,” said Katie Plazarin.

She said opening a new business outside the time of a pandemic is “mentally, physically and emotionally draining, but this is a whole new ball game. We’ve been in this for a year (with the pandemic), but I feel there is always something different being thrown at us.”

The incident Saturday at Holtman’s West Chester Twp. location is viewed differently by the Plazarins and their staff, and Gross and her constituents.

Gross said she has proof she spoke with a Holtman’s representative weeks prior to confirm the coffee with constituents, and two attendees called the donut shop the day of the event and were told it was happening.

Plazarin said holding that type of gathering “would be a non-starter,” adding, “We can’t hold that many people with COVID.”

Gross said she and constituents were told they were allowed to be maskless while seated and consuming donuts and coffee. She confirmed they were asked to spread out and complied, but Gross said since she could not stand to drink coffee and talk maskless, she sat among the tables.

Gross said the staff could have asked the group to leave but did not.

“It’s a sad time when reason and common-sense have become a victim of political correctness,” she said. “I served 21 years in the military because I believe in the freedoms we enjoy in our country, and I love to support local businesses.”

Plazarin said the two staff members, neither with more than a year of experience, were overwhelmed, and this type of situation can be “extremely intimidating.”

“They weren’t scared but we were getting phone calls saying they’d report us, and we don’t want to get into trouble,” she said. “We don’t want to be closed and lose our jobs.”