New York pub owners said Tuesday they “had to find something to comply” with Governor Andrew Cuomo’s new coronavirus restriction on restaurants, which requires alcohol purchases to include food. So they added “Cuomo Chips” to their menu for customers who don’t want a full meal.
Matthew Bagley and Adam Humphrey, co-owners of Harvey’s Irish Pub in Saratoga Springs, New York, appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday to discuss how their idea, which they said began as a way to comply with the governor’s rule and to ” make fun of politics. ”
Cuomo had complained Thursday that some restaurants had been transformed into open-air standing bars, where the rules for masks and social distancing were ignored. He also wants diners who drink to sit down. He plans to enforce a three-strike rule that could cost violators their liquor license.
“It is our livelihood. It is our liquor license. It is everything to us, ”Humphrey said Tuesday.
A bag of Cuomo chips will cost you $ 1 plus sales tax, a portion of which will go to New York State coffers.
Humphrey said the fries “got very good feedback from our regular bar patrons and restaurant guests.”
He added that customers “thought it was fun” and “lightened the blow they had to buy other food.”
He noted that some customers come into his pub after eating elsewhere and just want to “buy a pint of beer or something, but now they have to buy food.” [at] all the bars they go to. ”
NY GOV. CUOMO PUBLISHES NEW BAR, RESTRICTIONS OF RESTAURANTS IN CORONAVIRUS FIGHT: ‘3 STRIKES ARE CLOSED’
Cuomo chief adviser Rich Azzopardi said Friday that Harvey’s potato chips do not violate the governor’s food requirements rule, according to the New York Post.
“It is consistent with the orientation, but you have to be seated,” Azzopardi said.
Bagley acknowledged that the last thing he wants is for his business to be closed because they don’t comply with the new directives, especially after being closed for three months due to coronavirus closings.
“The problem we have had is that we comply,” Bagley said. “The socially distant restaurant. We have those sanitary stations. I’m over-watching people regarding wearing a mask. So we have this other obstacle to jump. ”
“It was a little difficult, but we ran out of chips, so there is something positive,” he continued.
Humphrey added that people who come to the establishment without a mask are asked to leave.
“We threw them away,” he said.
Bagley said the coronavirus pandemic negatively impacted business.
“We missed St. Patrick’s Day, which was a big hit, and we had to wait until we received federal aid,” he said, adding that after the pub reopened after three months of being closed “it was kind of slow tracking”.
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“We are very fortunate to have a very large space to work,” Bagley said. “We have outdoor seating available and enough space for us to distance ourselves socially without missing too many tables.”
“But the biggest obstacle is compliance and making sure that people follow the rules that we are trying to enforce,” he continued.
Fox News’ Robert Gearty contributed to this report.
