Spokane Comedy Club will remain closed under the current reopening guidelines. | Getty Images
Spokane Comedy Club will remain closed under the current reopening guidelines. | Getty Images
As Phase 2 of the state's reopening plan continues, Spokane Comedy Club has been unable to open because it has a nightclub licens,e which would preclude it from opening until Phase 4, KREM reported.
Under the state’s current phased approach reopening plan, nightclubs and similar entertainment venues must remain closed until Phase 4, while restaurants and taverns are currently allowed to operate at 50% capacity.
The comedy club paid $2,000 and applied for a restaurant license to be allowed to open in Phase 2. Their application was approved on July 9, but Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has released new guidelines that prohibit live entertainment at restaurants and taverns.
Bark Entertainment LLC, which operates the comedy club, has posted a petition on Change.org requesting the Governor to allow live entertainment during Phases 2 and 3 of reopening, which now has more than 1,000 signatures.
"These entertainment venues are just like restaurants in almost EVERY SINGLE WAY. We have movable tables with chairs. We serve food and drinks. We pay for a license through the WSLCB and Health Board that calls us a Restaurant. The only difference is we have an entertainer that is the focus of the evening," the company wrote on the petition.