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Rampant COVID violations at Fast Eddie’s Bon Air freaked me out Saturday

May 4, 2021 Featured, Local Business, Metro East, St. Charles County, Travel No Comments

We knew Saturday would be a gorgeous day so we decided to drive up the Great River Road along the Mississippi River north of Alton IL. Our first stop would be a favorite, Fast Eddie’s Bon Air. We knew it had been cited for Covid violations in October 2020:

A longtime and popular restaurant in Alton was recently cited for not complying with COVID-19 restrictions in the area.

Illinois State Police said based on a complaint, they did a COVID-19 compliance check on Fast Eddie’s Bon Air. Officers issued a notice of non-compliance to the manager on duty and advised them on a time frame to get into compliance, police said.

After about an hour, Illinois State Police officers returned and issued a dispersal order and then after another 30 minutes, officers returned and issued a Madison County non-traffic complaint. Police said the manager signed and accepted the written complaint on behalf of Fast Eddie’s. (KSDK)

That was over six months ago, they likely learned how to comply. Or so I thought. I was thinking maybe tables wouldn’t be spaced as far apart as they should be for proper social distancing. We’re both fully vaccinated so I thought we could take a chance.

We arrived before they opened so we’d be among the first to enter. This photo was taken at 10:55am, 5 minutes before the door was unlocked.

We were the third group in the door, but our order number was 2nd. A long line of bikers was behind us. Inside I got us a table while my husband ordered.

As I waited I began noticing how different this was than every other restaurant we’d patronized during the pandemic:

  • No employees are wearing masks. Not our drink server, not the manager walking around, not anyone behind the counter.
  • Customers are walking around inside without masks. No mask while ordering, finding a table, going to the bathroom, picking up their order.
  • Only a few other customers wore a mask.

I told my husband we had to eat quickly and leave. Had we not left quickly I’d have likely confronted the manager, which would have ruined the day we had planned.

Here’s a few pics from the rest of the beautiful day.

Downtown Alton IL is so charming, wonderful scale and the hills create interesting views. Click image for Downtown Alton website.
Next we drove through the historic village of Elsah IL– one of our favorites. Click image for Elsah tourism info.
We stopped at the Elsah General Store and got some baked goods for dessert, ate them outside. The shop owner wore a mask. They even accepted payment via ApplePay! Yes, click the image to view their website & hours.
When we reached the free Brussels Ferry we crossed the Illinois River. This ferry is operated by the Illinois Department of Transportation. Click image for more information.
I’ve done this trip numerous times over the last 30 years, but this was the first time I went a few miles out of our way to see Brussels IL. This is the village hall. Click the image to see the Wikipedia page, learn things like it was founded in 1822!
We continued driving through Calhoun County IL until we reached the Golden Eagle Ferry to cross the Mississippi River into St. Charles County MO. Click image for more information.
New Town at St. Charles was an easy stop as we headed for I-370. As predicted, it looks much better now that the trees have matured. Click the image for the official New Town website.

At the end of our day we stopped at a convenience store near New Town. The employee and some fellow customers were wearing masks, but customers came & went without any masks.

The pandemic is still going on, people are still getting sick & dying.

— Steve Patterson

 

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