People Can't Believe This Restaurant's Anti-Vax 'Declaration Of Defiance'
The pandemic undoubtedly had a major impact on the restaurant industry, with millions of jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in sales lost during 2020, and hundreds of thousands of restaurants closed for good (per CNBC). Conor Mack, who runs Otherside Deli in Austin, Texas told CNBC that, "It went from a line out the door during lunch to no one being even interested in coming by." According to Mack, his annual profits decreased by as much as 20% and made things pretty hard for his family as they dealt with the virus and tried to keep things afloat.
Thankfully, things have started picking up again as businesses reopen and welcome customers once more. Here's one example: McDonald's has started seeing its sales rise again. Per Reuters, same-store sales for the brand increased by 40.5% in the second quarter of 2021. This increase beat predictions made by analysts, who were anticipating a 39.81% increase.
One of the major changes during these uncertain times? Some businesses are asking customers to show proof that they've been vaccinated (per The Telegraph), while others are providing perks and benefits to those who've chosen to get their shots. According to Fortune, Krispy Kreme is serving free donuts to its vaccinated customers throughout 2021. Whoa. However, a restaurant from California is doing something entirely different and only accepting unvaccinated customers (via The Sacramento Bee.)
It's a controversial decision
Basilico's Pasta e Vino is doing something rather unusual these days. According to The Sacramento Bee, the Italian restaurant is asking customers to prove that they're unvaccinated if they wish to dine at the eatery. An Instagram post on the brand's account reads, "More American counties, cities, and businesses doubling down on anti-American lockdown mandates? Well 'Basilico's Pasta e Vino' just tripled down: From day one, never complied, banned masks, and now ... requiring proof of being Un-vaccinated!"
Many people can't help but express outrage at this decision. Someone commented that the restaurant's owners shouldn't have gotten political at all. An angry Instagram user wrote, "Get your vaccine ... are you really serving people and spreading COVID to them?" Meanwhile, many wondered how anyone can possibly prove that they haven't been vaccinated.
Meanwhile, television presenter Chris Cuomo spoke to Tony Roman, the owner of Basilica's Paste e Vino, and asked him whether he was joking (via Yahoo). Roman replied that the sign was his way of ensuring that he wouldn't attract certain customers. He said, "Like I say to people when they ask me, if they're so blinded with their rage and their hate ... I tell them, 'You know what, if you don't understand it, maybe we should put up a sign that says you're too stupid to come into the restaurant.'" Uh-oh.