Restaurants across Louisiana are now facing restrictions about how they can operate.
In his emergency proclamation yesterday, Governor John Bel Edwards limited restaurants to takeout or delivery only.
The goal is to limit the spread of the virus, but just one day in, not everyone is complying.
KATC received a tip on Facebook that Sunny's Chicken and Seafood was allowing dine-in customers, despite the Governor's order in the interest of public health.
We drove to Church Point to Investigate.
While our camera was rolling, we asked if the restaurant is still allowing dine-in customers.
A Sunny's employee said, "That's not answerable right now at the moment...my bosses are coming in."
We pressed and asked the employee if she refused to acknowledge the customers eating diner in the restaurant and the fact that Sunny's was violating the Governor's order.
The employee said, "No, actually, I need to take this call right now. Can you excuse me?"
We asked customers inside the restaurant if they realized they're not allowed to eat inside. One said she called before she went to Sunny's and an employee said they could eat in.
Once we started asking more questions, Sunny's told us to leave. They also asked their dine-in customers to go. Earlier this week, law enforcement said any business caught violating the Governor's order could be cited or potentially lose their license.
We asked the employee if they would close the dining room and reminded them they were violating the Governor's order.
The employee said, "You need to speak to the Mayor's office."
So we did. Church Point Mayor Ryan "Spanky" Meche said he didn't give Sunny's permission to let customers continue to dine in. He did say the business owner is out of state, but coming back to handle the situation.
Before we left Sunny's, we asked the employee if she's concerned about the potential COVID-19 exposure.
She said, "No. Not really. It's going to be what's it's going to be."
