The owner of a restaurant in Gaithersburg, Maryland, wrote a controversial social media post telling customers that he won’t require servers to wear face masks.
The post since deleted on the Grill at Flower Hill Facebook page read in part: “Let me be very clear … my staff will not wear face masks while working here at Grille. If that bothers you, please dine elsewhere. and try to find something more important to occupy your time, like volunteering in a nursing home or in a soup kitchen. “
The owner wrote the post in response to a customer complaint to the Montgomery County Health Department that restaurant staff were not wearing masks and some customers were sitting too close.
“Whoever has filed the complaint should look carefully in the mirror and try to find some real meaning in their life,” the owner said in the post.
In a phone interview with News4, the owner, who did not want to be identified, said he received death threats in response to his message.
He said he feels that the masks are bad for people’s health and that they are uncomfortable to wear.
He also said that he gave his staff the option to wear masks, but they all decided not to wear them.
Montgomery County requires that people wear face masks in public.
The county health department said it sent an inspector to Grille in Flower Hill last Thursday and reminded the restaurant of the rules.
But the county says it has since received more complaints about servers not wearing masks yet.
As of Monday, the restaurant is closed. County officials say they did not compel the owner to close.
The owner said he hopes to reopen Thursday and told News4 that he has no plans to change his stance on the masks.
Some former customers told News4 that they are going to eat elsewhere.
“Now that I know they won’t be wearing masks, I don’t know if I trust eating there, even when everyone no longer has to wear masks. If they just don’t care,” Susan Gunster said.
“It’s as simple as everyone doing their part, and I would feel safer going there. Now that not all of us, it’s like we’re back to the beginning.”
So I’m just as inclined to stay home as I was then, even more so now, seeing posts like that, “said Steven Schlee.
The health department says it plans to send another inspector on Thursday.
Anyone who knowingly violates the mask order in Montgomery County is guilty of a misdemeanor and could face up to one year in prison and / or a $ 5,000 fine.
.
