Restaurants on the Central and South Coast are facing the prospect of a three week closure starting Monday, after Governor Gavin Newsom's threshold for shutdown was met at the weekend.
One Ventura restaurant says it'll be hard for them to recover from a second enforced closure.
Busy Bee Cafe in Ventura is a 1950's diner which has been open since 1983.
However, owner Raymondo Sanchez says it'll be hard to survive another closure.
"The first time we might be able to recover but the second time they close us down, it's going to be even worse to recover. It's hard to keep this business alive."
He is philosophical about the prospect of a closure, as he says that the health and safety of his staff and customers is his priority.
"We have friends that die because of COVID-19. We have friends that got sick. We gotta do what we gotta do to stay safe."
The new COVID-19 stay-at-home order has shut down things like in-person restaurant dining on the Central and South Coasts.
The new order took effect on Sunday at midnight after ICU capacity dropped below 15% in the Southern California region, which includes LA and Orange Counties, as well as Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo Counties.
Governor Gavin Newsom said last week that with the state seeing its highest new coronavirus case numbers since the start of the pandemic, action was needed.
Personal care businesses like hair salons, barbershops, and nail salons have to close for three weeks. Restaurants are limited to takeout or delivery service. Open schools can remain open, and retail stores can stay open at 20% capacity.
The new order also calls for all non-essential travel to be restricted statewide.
