City: Campaign can’t save big tent at Andy’s Fish House in Snohomish

SNOHOMISH — Driving into downtown Snohomish, one of the first things you’ll see is an 800-square-foot white tent.

The vinyl-and-plastic tent, installed in October 2021, gave Andy’s Fish House a lifeline through the second winter of COVID and beyond. The increased seating doubled the restaurant’s wintertime payroll, co-owner Bronn Journey said.

But the city said the structure isn’t permitted, and it must have a permit or come down by July 5, as COVID-era exceptions phase out.

If not, the restaurant will face fines up to $1,000 per day.

“I’m not in love with the tent,” Journey said. “The revenue that the tent brings in is what we’re concerned about.”

As of Friday, a petition pushing the city to let the tent stay had over 6,000 signatures.

Located at 1229 First St., Andy’s Fish House opened in 2014.

City Administrator Heather Thomas said the support doesn’t matter: It’s a code issue, not a political decision.

“It’s really about following the rules and the safety of our community,” she said. “We’re trying to mitigate the risk for our taxpayers, and trying to support the business as much as we can, in coming into compliance.”

‘How can we help’

In the opening days of the pandemic, the city of Snohomish entered a state of emergency that allowed businesses to add temporary outdoor structures without applying for a permit.

The move aimed to keep local restaurants afloat amid stay-at-home orders.

After months of using a smaller tent, Andy’s Fish House put up their current custom-made structure in October 2021. It cost $25,000, co-owner Andy Gibbs said.

Two years later, the City Council ended the state of emergency.

And in early August 2023, city staff delivered letters to eight businesses explaining outdoor tents needed to come “into compliance” because they violated the city code that had been suspended.

After the letter, the city and restaurant owners launched into a monthlong back and forth of meetings, emails and violation notices.

In February, the city published a “temporary structures” page explaining the enforcement of unpermitted structures with a detailed Q&A.

The deadline for most businesses to pack up their tents was this week. The city gave Andy’s until July.

Thomas said the city told businesses they could offset some of the costs of taking down the tent through the Snohomish Thrive Grant program. The 24 grants varied in amount, up to $50,000, Thomas said. Businesses and nonprofits could apply for money to recover from the pandemic.

Two businesses with unpermitted outdoor structures got grants. Uptown Brewery received $25,000 and Thai & Taps received $10,000, city spokesperson Shari Ireton said.

Ireton noted these businesses have gazebos, not tents, so the compliance process is difficult to compare.

Gibbs and Journey said they weren’t eligible for the grants because their business thrived during COVID.

Thomas said the grant also lists “increased costs” and “capacity to weather financial hardship” as other considerations that could qualify a business for the money.

Grants for $10,000 remain, Thomas said.

‘It could jeopardize our state and federal funding’

City officials told restaurant owners it doesn’t matter how many signatures the petition gets.

“The City Council, the mayor, the staff do not have the authority to overrule,” Thomas said. “It’s the International Building Code, the International Fire Code and the Washington State Energy Code.”

In 2004, the International Building Code, a worldwide standard code, was implemented in all Washington cities. Thomas said solutions suggested by the petition or online comments — like issuing a variance or a non-conforming structure permit — aren’t workable.

She said the city can’t issue a variance because the International Building Code doesn’t allow waivers.

A non-conforming structure permit wouldn’t work either, Thomas said.

“That is, if a permanent structure was constructed prior to a new law going into effect,” she said. “That’s not the case. These laws have been around for decades.”

But Journey said other cities “don’t enforce code that much.”

Still, he said he isn’t an anarchist and believes in the need to follow strong laws.

Thomas said the consequences of not enforcing code could spill over to taxpayers.

“It could come up in a state audit, because we’re not following the (state law) that we’re required to enforce,” she said. “It could jeopardize our state and federal funding.”

If an accident happens with the tent, the city could be liable, she said. Taxpayers would foot the bill.

An exception, Thomas said, would not be fair to other businesses that complied.

‘Fish and chips in peace’

Then there’s the issue of how the tent is designed.

Because the tent is in Historic Downtown Snohomish, materials like vinyl and plastic are not allowed, Thomas said.

Gibbs and Journey said they weren’t aware of the banned materials when they first installed the tent.

Despite the tension, both sides said they want to work together.

“I’m coming around, I’m no bad citizen,” Journey said.

Thomas said she understood some of the owners’ concerns.

“I understand margins are thin. We need to see them succeed,” she said. “We don’t discriminate on who we support, but Andy’s Fish House needs to follow laws.”

Gibbs said he was talking to an architect last week to see how to move forward so each side can be a winner. He is pushing for keeping the tent up until a new one is ready.

Since the petition, hostile and negative comments on social media have escalated to threats toward various City Council members and city staff. To keep staff safe, city facilities now have an “increased police presence,” Thomas said.

Journey called this type of support “uncalled for” and “not helpful.”

“People are using us to make statements that don’t really reflect the fish house,” he said. “We just want to sell fish and chips in peace. Let’s get along everybody.”

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated when Andy’s Fish House installed the tent.

Aina de Lapparent Alvarez: 425-339-3449; aina.alvarez@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @Ainadla.