Governor Tom Wolf says to close, but at least four restaurants are saying “no.”
Taste of Sicily and Baby’s Grill House in Palmyra, Kuppi’s Dinner in Middletown and Hershey’s Fanici have made public their intention to be open for indoor dining over the weekend.
The Wolf administration unveiled new coronavirus restrictions on 10 December. The bans took effect on December 12 and include the closure of indoor dining. But some restaurant owners objected to the shutdown order and the short notice.
read more: ‘Employment will be lost’: Indoor dining ban hits already troubled restaurants
Phil Guarno, owner of Hershey’s Fancy, said that since Governor Wolf’s office initially denied reports of more severe bans, restaurants had run out and stocked their refrigerators over the weekend.
“You said you’re not shutting down, it’s all rumor,” Garno said on Facebook Live. “So what did the restaurant do? Went to restaurants and bought food on the weekends. We filled our refrigerators over the weekend because we trusted our corrupt government official. We believed in Tom Wolf. ”
Later, he added: “You can’t stop us with just 24 hours’ notice. It’s not going to happen. We don’t let all those foods go to waste. ”
He also tanked his employees and fired them just a few weeks before Christmas. It’s a matter of concern that the owner of Babe’s Grill House, David Demiller, has shared on his own Facebook Live.
“I can’t close my doors right now and fire five or six employees two weeks before Christmas,” Dimiller said. “I can’t do that right now. I would close my doors if Governor Wolf could come up with some kind of package to pick up my staff before Christmas. But until then, we will be open because my team needs money to pay for the gifts and take care of their family. “
Guerrero criticizes Wolf for considering a compromise not to work with the industry, which will help everyone, such as returning to business 25 percent or, at the very least, giving restaurant renters a chance to reduce their inventory and let their employees go on time to collect unemployment .
He said he would comply with all other COVID-19 restrictions by keeping 50% business in mind and wearing a server mask. Garno said he believes in the virus and its dangers. During April 2020 he also brought food for staff at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in 35 days, as the epidemic was at the height of its first wave.
Pennsylvania state agencies, including the police, the alcohol control board, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, the State Department, and the Department of Labor and Industry, reiterated their commitment to enforcing the breach of mandate in a joint statement to PenLive. They said that due to the Prevention and Control of Diseases Act of 1955 and the Administrative Code of 1929, they are able to enforce COVID-19 related orders.
“The orders of the Governor and the Secretary of Health were issued in pursuance of the powers conferred on them under the Act, and the power and effect of such legislation,” the statement said. “This right extends to all local enforcement agencies in Pennsylvania.”
Violators will be given progressive approvals and other fines, with warnings, followed by more severe penalties such as fines and closure orders.
That implementation is getting ready to expand.
- read more: These pay restaurants, bars and social clubs were recently cited for non-compliance with COVID-19 guidelines.
“Now, seven months after the epidemic, the Commonwealth is reviewing its implementation methods and is ready to take tougher action against chronic violators, as we work to save lives and protect the public by ensuring that all necessary preventive measures are followed.” Is necessary, ”the statement read.
If restaurants repeatedly violate orders they cannot maintain their licenses, which must be operated, according to the statement.
The taste of Sicily is a recurring culprit, and the owners there are not worried. So far he has been fined 10,000 10,000. They owe him one per cent and, in fact, won a court case in October for violating sanctions earlier this year. On August 25, they were cited for refusing to wear a mask or violating a mitigation order, including the practice of social distance. Magisterial District Judge Carl Garver ruled that he was cited unconstitutionally and therefore was not guilty.
A Sicilian spokesman, Mike Mangano Taste, said he also expects such a result when the restaurant returns to court on a 10,000 fine. Until then, he doesn’t care what restrictions are put in place.
“We have already received a fine of 10,000,” he told PenLive. “We could do some even faster.”
