Local leaders ask Gov. Polis to re-open indoor restaurant dining

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — Colorado Springs and El Paso County officials have issues with the 5-star certification program for Colorado restaurants, and they asked the state to reopen indoor dining.

El Paso County Commission Chair Mark Waller says Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers, the head of Visit COS, the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and others joined him in sending a letter to the governor on Friday.

“It’s just too cumbersome, too bureaucratic,” Waller said about the 5-star program. “In addition, the feedback we’ve had from restaurant owners is that it’s not gonna work anyway. They still aren’t going to be able to open because the requirements of that program are so restrictive.”

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers believes that the five-star program, which would allow restaurants to reopen with restrictions as long as certain guidelines are followed, has a hefty price tag.

"It will result in considerable, unnecessary cost and administrative burden to both businesses and taxpayers," Suthers said.

He's asking for the state to amend a public health order and allow restaurants to "immediately allow 25% capacity of indoor dining, witha maximum of two households per table." The letter also asks for that capacity to be bumped up to 50% in two weeks if numbers continue to decline.

Waller says they have not yet heard back from the governor’s office in response to the letter.