Hundreds rallied at Fresno City Hall in May to call for businesses to reopen. Photo by Edward Smith

Valley business owners are planning to protest the new lockdowns ordered by Gov. Newsom on Monday.

Open Central California Safety, an online organization dedicated to countering Covid-19 restrictions, has planned a rally for Saturday at noon in front of the Fresno County Department of Public Health building in Downtown Fresno. According to local restaurateur Lewis Everk, one of the event’s organizers, he’s received multiple calls and messages from concerned colleagues about their businesses being in imminent danger of shutting down, and wishes to express both his own frustrations as well as theirs.

“We must send a message that small business needs to be treated equally,” the group said on Facebook. “We are the backbone of this community and all communities across the country.”

The rally will last an hour. Everk added there is a limited window of opportunity to join.