Baby in Restaurant: A Health Hazard?

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A judge decided Friday to let a working mother reopen her restaurant, which had been closed by health officials who said she created a health hazard by keeping her young son on the job.

Jennifer Crafts’ restaurant in Chicopee was ordered closed this week after health officials declared a health emergency. She sued to demand her 11-month-old restaurant be kept open--at least until she was granted a hearing by Chicopee health officials. That hearing has been set for Wednesday.

In his ruling, Hampden Superior Court Judge William H. Welsh said the restaurant may stay open for now, provided Crafts’ 19-month-old son is kept in the front of the restaurant where customers eat, not in food-preparation areas. Crafts said she would accept those terms at least until the city’s hearing.