The Grille at Flower Hill in Gaithersburg has been receiving attention, not the good kind, on social media after a now-deleted Facebook post from a manager or owner who says employees won’t wear face masks.
“Let me be very clear … my staff will not wear face masks while working here at Grille,” the post said.
“If that bothers you, then have dinner somewhere else and try to find something more important to occupy your time, such as volunteering in a nursing home or in a soup kitchen. Whoever made the complaint should look hard in the mirror and try to find some real meaning in their life. “
In a statement emailed to MyMCMedia, Dr. Travis Gayles, Montgomery County Health Officer, acknowledged the complaints received about The Grille. Gayles said he received a complaint on Monday, June 29, and an environmental health inspector from the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) visited the restaurant three days later on Thursday, July 2. The inspector gave a “verbal reminder” about public health requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Complaints about employees not wearing masks were received again on Monday, July 6. According to The Grille statement and Facebook page, the restaurant’s normal operating days are Thursday through Sunday, so DHHS will visit again on Thursday, July 9 when it reopens.
“As we receive complaints about companies like Grille at Flower Hill for not meeting the requirements to wear face masks and keep customers physically apart, we will thoroughly investigate each complaint. If we discover that a business has been educated and continues to voluntarily ignore the requirements to reopen safely, we will use our legal authority to prohibit its operations until they comply, “said Dr. Gayles in his statement.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, The Grille said it was closed that day and asked residents to send complaints about the limited hours to county executive Marc Elrich and Governor Larry Hogan.
“The grill will be closed on Sunday, July 5. We hope to reopen on Thursday, July 9 at 4pm. Address each and every complaint regarding our limited hours of service to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and Governor Larry Hogan, ”the publication said.
DHHS spokeswoman Mary Anderson said DHHS did not close the restaurant.
Although the original post about wearing masks has been removed, people have left mostly disapproving comments about other recent posts by The Grille.
“I hope I never open again! Since you are explicitly putting your customers and staff at risk by refusing to wear masks. Horrible mindset at this challenging time, “says a comment on The Grille’s latest Facebook post.
“How much are you charging on the COVID-19 side?” Another comment says below a post about menu options.
About Maryam Shahzad
Maryam is a reporter for Montgomery Community Media. She graduated from the University of Maryland in December with a bachelor’s degree in television journalism. Previously, she was an intern at MCM. Maryam loves the visual media and always says that the movie is better than the book. She can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @maryam_mcm.
