STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — As the city presses forward with mandatory vaccine card checks, some Staten Island restaurant owners are getting major blowback from customers wanting to dine indoors.
“You’re p---ing off the audience no matter what you do,” said Richie Holmes of two Juicy Lucy restaurants. His new Eltingville spot features mostly walk-in and take-out trade. But one 19-year-old female staffer at his sit-down Ocean Breeze establishment was met with a 50-something-year-old man who came by himself, making his way to the indoor dining area.
“The guy gets to the top of the stairs. He said, ‘I want to eat in.’ The girl at the door said, ‘I didn’t see your vaccine card,’” recounted Holmes. He said the situation deteriorated from there with the man calling the hostess an “f’ing communist.” Another staff member told the man to leave and never to return to the restaurant.
“The sign at the door tells you clearly we check vaccine cards,” said Holmes. If he wasn’t an inspector, Holmes fully expected the man to blast him on social media. But the internet world remained silent.
“He just left. I don’t know where he was from. She’s 19. She’s crying, the whole nine yards,” said Holmes.
He added, “It’s very annoying. People are yelling at my employees. People are very upset. I understand their frustration — but they’re yelling at my 19-year old employee!”
Holmes is debating whether or not to stay open for pickup and delivery only until the mandate ends.
While he follows the law he said, “I don’t know if it’s worth it to ask for vaccine cards. I don’t know what to do. All these decisions that I make affect 57 people who have their livelihoods sitting out there. It’s very confusing and frustrating, and for restaurant owners it’s not fair.”
NASTY MESSAGES
Most owners interviewed for this story would not go on the record as customers seemed so divided on the issue, and they did not want to appear to take sides.
“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. I’m just following orders,” said a chef/owner on the North Shore.
All interviewed who did enforce the rule reported that a few guests daily turn on their heel and walk out — some with profanity shouted at the gatekeeper — yet with no further incidents. The decision not to stay and dine, however, eats away at the bottom line, say owners, who have reported cancelled parties and sales down anywhere from 40 to 80 percent, since the rule went into effect on Monday, Aug. 17.
In one of the more egregious complications of the carding mandate, three women from Texas visiting Carmine’s in Manhattan were arrested after pouncing on a hostess who asked for vaccination proof. To the disdain of restaurant owners on Staten Island who watched the video footage and subsequent demonstrations outside the famed eatery claiming racial discrimination, one Staten Island restaurateur said the whole escalated matter was “every business owner’s worst nightmare.”
A South Shore operator said, “I’m going to tell you 90% of the people are sympathetic with us for putting the proofing into effect. Then there are 10% sending these bizarre messages.”
Another South Shore owner shared feedback received from customers via email after a formal policy on the card checks was posted in the fine print.
In the unsolicited responses, the memo line preceding the individual comments started with headings such as “Fake Mandate,” “Discrimination,” and “We won’t visit you.” Dozens of messages that followed from the self-declared vaccinated and/or unvaccinated authors included cancelled reservations, promises never to return again and chastisements for abiding by the city’s rule.
Read one, “Sorry but my family and I will no longer be frequenting your establishment due to your stance on the vaccine.”
Said another, “We will not frequent your establishment since you are discriminating against many people that will not let the government make the government make their health decision for them.”
And another, “We are vaccinated but won’t be visiting your store since you are treating unvaccinated people unfairly.”
MAKING THE BEST OF IT
Will the mandate go away anytime soon, wonder some entrepreneurs.
A spokesman for the mayor’s office pointed out that the program is only eight days old and it might be premature to talk about shutting it down. He added a hopeful sentiment that it will get easier, not harder, to implement mandates as New Yorkers get used to them — and as the vaccinated numbers continue upward.
The mayor’s office also recognized the adjustment period with any new policies and noted its offering of door-to-door trainings and conflict de-escalation resources to restaurants. These programs have been made available to business owners over the summer along with a Small Business Services hotline for advice. The city also has businesses post bold signage that the policy is city-mandated, not that a restaurant is choosing to implement such things.
The spokesman called restaurant owners “fantastic partners throughout this process” and hopes the public doesn’t lose sight of what the city is trying to do: keep residents safe in a pandemic.
Richie Holmes continues to tow the line. He said, “This whole thing will go away in a couple of months. The mayor is at the end of his term. I love my country. This is not an American thing. Whether you figure Covid is legit or not, it’s here. We have our own way of looking at it. At the end of the day, this is the way we are and we have to make the best of it.”
He added, “I’m trying to keep the doors open. I’m walking a fine line trying to figure things out.”
Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
Ad Choices