Dave McGuire figures Oregonians should be able to decide for themselves whether to sit down in a restaurant and have a meal.

And he intends to continue offering his customers that option even though, as of Friday, Jan. 15, Gov. Kate Brown’s COVID-19 regulations prohibit indoor dining in Baker County.

That’s because Baker County has returned to the extreme-risk category for virus spread under the state’s four-level system, and will stay there at least through Jan. 28.

The county had been in the high-risk category from Jan. 1-14, which allows indoor dining up to 25% of capacity or 50 people total, including employees and diners, whichever is fewer.

McGuire, who owns the Oregon Trail Restaurant in Baker City, said on Friday that he plans to continue allowing limited indoor dining even as Baker County is in the extreme-risk group.

McGuire said he did so while the county was in the extreme-risk category from Dec. 3-31.

He will continue to offer takeout meals, and keep open the drive-thru window he and his wife, Sandy, installed in March when the state first imposed restaurant restrictions.

“It’s nice to have options, but not everyone wants to do takeout or use the drive-thru,” Dave McGuire said.

Although he acknowledges he’s defying the governor’s orders by allowing limited indoor dining, McGuire said he will continue to follow recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Oregon Health Authority, including requiring employees to wear masks, and diners to wear masks when they aren’t eating or drinking. He said he will also ensure there is space between groups of diners.

“Our customers’ health is number one on our list,” McGuire said.

He said he has not had any contact with state officials about incurring fines or other penalties for failing to comply with the regulations.

Oregon OSHA has received at least five complaints about the Oregon Trail Restaurant defying state rules, according to the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services.

McGuire said he’s concerned not only about how 10 months of restrictions have harmed his businesses — he and Mark Linderman also own the adjacent Oregon Trail Motel — but also the ripple effect of the pandemic throughout the local economy.

“This is affecting all of us, it’s not just restaurants, bars and fitness centers,” McGuire said.

He thinks more business owners might refuse to comply with all regulations because their financial survival could be in jeopardy.

“As this progresses more businesses are being backed into a corner,” McGuire said.

Dylan Glock, who owns the Squeaky Stirrup in Baker City, where he sells saddles and horse tack, agrees with McGuire that restrictions on restaurants can affect other types of businesses — his included.

Glock said on Friday that many of his customers are ranchers who live outside Baker City, and when they plan a trip to town they like to combine their shopping and other needs with a restaurant meal.

“These people don’t come into town if they can’t get a cheeseburger,” he said.

Glock said he also derives some of his business from people who walk a few feet down the sidewalk on the north side of Broadway Street from El Erradero restaurant, which is next door to his shop.

That source of business has diminished considerably while El Erradero has been restricted to takeout meals, Glock said.

He also believes, as McGuire does, that business restrictions contribute to an atmosphere of fear that discourages people from leaving their homes — and patronizing local businesses.

“People just aren’t out and about,” Glock said.

McGuire said the widespread economic harm prompted him to form, on Dec. 23, the Eastern Oregon Business Association LLC.

He said he paid the $100 filing fee to the Oregon Secretary of State’s office because he believes “we should all stand together.”

McGuire said one of his chief frustrations is that although state officials have frequently cited private parties and other social gatherings as a significant source of COVID-19 spread over the past two months, state restrictions are more stringent for restaurants, bars and fitness centers, among other businesses, compared with retail shops and grocery stores.

“I just don’t understand why we are targeted,” McGuire said. “I don’t think they have a reason.”

Glock said he supports McGuire’s efforts to promote solidarity among businesses in Baker County and around the region as they lobby against restrictions that Glock contends are illogical.

“This is not sustainable,” Glock said. “I’m more than happy to help everybody fight it. It’s the biggest farce ever pulled on the American people.”