Greeley Barbershop Issued Cease & Desist Order One Day After Reopening

The state of Colorado issued a cease and desist order to a local Greeley barbershop on Tuesday (April 28), just one day after the shop reopened following the end of the stay-at-home order.

Owner Jose Oregel opened The Bar.Ber.Shop on Monday (April 27) to almost 40 customers, despite the fact that he received differing instructions on whether or not to reopen from the Governor's Office and Weld County officials.

According to The Greeley Tribune, the reasoning behind the cease and desist order is that Oregel's business license for cosmetology/barber expired in November of 2019.

The Governor's Office reportedly warned Oregel not to open the shop until Friday, May 1, in accordance with Governor Polis' new safer-at-home order.

However, Oregel followed the direction of Weld County Commissioners and the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA), who told him that he was allowed to open on April 27, as long as he followed Weld County's safer-at-work guidelines.

Oregel did follow the county's guidelines, implementing various sanitization measures at the shop prior to reopening.

The notion of whether or not to reopen has been a point of contention between Polis and Weld County as of late, which has caused confusion for many business owners and towns.

The reopening of The Bar.Ber.Shop caused a stir among the public as well, with many locals expressing their anger at Oregel's decision.

Regardless of COVID-19 restrictions, no barbershop is allowed to operate without a current license.