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Restaurants Become the New Covid-19 Vaccine Enforcers—for Better or Worse
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Michael Ejercito
Aug 15, 2021, 11:00:59 AM8/15/21
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https://archive.is/KoiLX
Restaurants Become the New Covid-19 Vaccine Enforcers—for Better or Worse
James Lim, owner of Watson's Counter in Ballard, Wash. The restaurant in
suburban Seattle reopened earlier this month to dine-in customers who
are vaccinated against Covid-19.
James Lim, owner of Watson's Counter in Ballard, Wash. The restaurant in
suburban Seattle reopened earlier this month to dine-in customers who
are vaccinated against Covid-19.
Restaurants Become the New Covid-19 Vaccine Enforcers—for Better or Worse
Dining out in some places now requires proof of vaccination, putting
workers in tough spots; ‘people scream at us through the phone’
By Heather Haddon | Photographs by Chona Kasinger for The Wall Street
Journal
Aug. 15, 2021 5:30 am ET
Restaurant managers and hosts are being assigned a new job—vaccination
police—and it’s dividing businesses and customers.
Some U.S. municipalities are asking restaurants, bars and other
businesses to verify patrons’ Covid-19 vaccination status before they
can dine or drink indoors, much as some European nations have begun to
do. The local mandates come as some bars and restaurants have
voluntarily started asking patrons to prove their vaccination status,
including a growing number in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Some restaurant owners checking diners’ vaccination status or a negative
Covid-19 test say the practices——intended to help move beyond the
pandemic——introduce new logistics.
Customers have canceled reservations and gotten angry when showing up
unaware of the new rules, some owners said. Some online reviews of their
restaurants now blast the new policies. Other owners say they and their
staff have received anonymous threats from people who accuse them of
infringing on individual freedoms and discriminating against the
unvaccinated.
“People scream at us through the phone. They say racist things. It’s all
about the vaccines,” said James Lim, owner of the Watson’s Counter
restaurant and cafe in the Seattle suburb of Ballard, Wash.
Watson’s Counter owner James Lim says the staff supported the voluntary
move to require indoor diners to show proof of vaccination.
Mr. Lim said his staff supported voluntarily instituting a
proof-of-vaccination requirement when the restaurant reopened for
dine-in service earlier this month. Many customers of the restaurant
welcomed the move, he said, but the hostility has troubled Watson’s
younger workers.
Thousands of other U.S. restaurants soon will be joining Watson’s.
Starting Monday, New York City restaurants must verify that a customer
has had at least one dose of a vaccine before entering to eat, with city
enforcement starting on Sept. 13. New Orleans also will start to impose
a vaccination mandate or negative Covid-19 test for indoor dining
starting Monday. Philadelphia last week added an incentive for
restaurants to check vaccination status, saying that indoor dining
without masks can continue only if all patrons and workers are vaccinated.
San Francisco will begin enforcing one of the strictest rules Friday,
allowing only fully vaccinated people to dine indoors. Elsewhere in
California, Palm Springs and California City will begin requiring proof
of vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test for indoor dining and
drinking in the coming weeks. Los Angeles is weighing similar measures.
“Our economy is so dependent on tourism. It’s essential to be known that
we are safe,” said Palm Springs Mayor Christy Gilbert Holstege.
The proof-of-vaccine screening is the latest in a series of
pandemic-related requirements placed on restaurants over the last 18 months.
Many Watson’s Counter customers welcomed the move to require proof of
vaccination, its owner says, but the restaurant also has been on the
receiving end of hostility.
Some restaurants already requiring vaccination proof say they are
willing to do whatever it takes to avoid their dining rooms being closed
down again due to coronavirus surges. Owners say they believe loyal
customers will reward them with business and they are willing to endure
the criticism.
“We don’t want to get shut down again. It’s that simple,” said Dean
Lavine, owner of Palm Springs bar and restaurant Blackbook, which
started checking customers’ vaccination status earlier this month.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the prospect of being asked to show proof of
vaccination when dining out? Join the conversation below.
Others are skeptical about private businesses being asked to enforce
vaccine mandates. Some fear driving unvaccinated people away, or
confusing customers.
Laurie Thomas, owner of two San Francisco establishments and executive
director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said she supports
the city’s new rules, but worries about her staff having to enforce the
mandate.
“Tell me the last time you were carded at a restaurant? It’s a different
level of training,” said Ms. Thomas, who wants the mandate to be widely
publicized so customers aren’t surprised.
Some restaurants requiring proof of vaccination say they are willing to
do whatever it takes to avoid another shutdown.
Business for restaurants was strong heading into the summer but has
slipped as the Covid-19 Delta variant has spread. Restaurant sales
growth in the week ended Aug. 1 was the slowest in nearly two months,
according to restaurant-analytics firm Black Box Intelligence. More
customers are mentioning Covid-19 safety practices in recent online
reviews, Black Box found.
Americans are split over needing to disclose vaccination status to dine out.
Janet Russell, a property manager from Arlington, Va, said she’s opposed
to rules requiring proof of vaccination. “These small businesses that
have already suffered tremendously during lockdown should not have to
shoulder the burden,” Ms. Russell said.
Restaurateurs are divided, too. Palm Springs businesses largely
supported the move before it was adopted, for example, while most
Colorado restaurants are opposed to proof-of-vaccine mandates out of
concern for their staff having to police customer compliance, according
to polls by local business groups. Some restaurant managers, fearing
lawsuits from disgruntled patrons, said they want clear guidelines from
local officials on how to determine vaccination status.
In New York City, restaurant operators are trying to determine how their
workers will verify customers’ vaccination status. The city order also
requires all restaurant workers to be vaccinated.
Executives at Shake Shack Inc., Panera Bread Co. and Applebee’s-parent
Dine Brands Global Inc. all said they intended to comply but are still
trying to understand the requirements.
“I do worry a little bit about the responsibility of checking ID cards,
and the place that puts our hosts and hostesses,” said Dine Chief
Executive John Peyton. “I’m hopeful that New Yorkers are respectful of
what’s now required.”
Surveys have found owners and consumers to be divided over vaccine
mandates for restaurants.
A survey of 536 consumers last month by market-research firm
Datassential found diners about evenly split over whether they would
comply with a proof-of-vaccination requirement at a restaurant.
“I understand the objections to it. People think it’s unfair,” said Sam
West, a 26-year-old Manhattan restaurant server. “But now I think of it
as a necessary evil.”
South Seattle small-plates restaurant Off Alley began requiring diners
to show proof of vaccination in late July. Co-owner Meghna Prakash said
customers have generally been supportive but online backlash is taking a
toll. Off Alley has received negative online reviews from people who
haven’t dined there, and she has been called discriminatory, Ms. Prakash
said.
“Making these policy decisions by ourselves is putting targets on our
backs,” she said.
Write to Heather Haddon at heather...@wsj.com
--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com
Restaurants Become the New Covid-19 Vaccine Enforcers—for Better or Worse
James Lim, owner of Watson's Counter in Ballard, Wash. The restaurant in
suburban Seattle reopened earlier this month to dine-in customers who
are vaccinated against Covid-19.
James Lim, owner of Watson's Counter in Ballard, Wash. The restaurant in
suburban Seattle reopened earlier this month to dine-in customers who
are vaccinated against Covid-19.
Restaurants Become the New Covid-19 Vaccine Enforcers—for Better or Worse
Dining out in some places now requires proof of vaccination, putting
workers in tough spots; ‘people scream at us through the phone’
By Heather Haddon | Photographs by Chona Kasinger for The Wall Street
Journal
Aug. 15, 2021 5:30 am ET
Restaurant managers and hosts are being assigned a new job—vaccination
police—and it’s dividing businesses and customers.
Some U.S. municipalities are asking restaurants, bars and other
businesses to verify patrons’ Covid-19 vaccination status before they
can dine or drink indoors, much as some European nations have begun to
do. The local mandates come as some bars and restaurants have
voluntarily started asking patrons to prove their vaccination status,
including a growing number in Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Some restaurant owners checking diners’ vaccination status or a negative
Covid-19 test say the practices——intended to help move beyond the
pandemic——introduce new logistics.
Customers have canceled reservations and gotten angry when showing up
unaware of the new rules, some owners said. Some online reviews of their
restaurants now blast the new policies. Other owners say they and their
staff have received anonymous threats from people who accuse them of
infringing on individual freedoms and discriminating against the
unvaccinated.
“People scream at us through the phone. They say racist things. It’s all
about the vaccines,” said James Lim, owner of the Watson’s Counter
restaurant and cafe in the Seattle suburb of Ballard, Wash.
Watson’s Counter owner James Lim says the staff supported the voluntary
move to require indoor diners to show proof of vaccination.
Mr. Lim said his staff supported voluntarily instituting a
proof-of-vaccination requirement when the restaurant reopened for
dine-in service earlier this month. Many customers of the restaurant
welcomed the move, he said, but the hostility has troubled Watson’s
younger workers.
Thousands of other U.S. restaurants soon will be joining Watson’s.
Starting Monday, New York City restaurants must verify that a customer
has had at least one dose of a vaccine before entering to eat, with city
enforcement starting on Sept. 13. New Orleans also will start to impose
a vaccination mandate or negative Covid-19 test for indoor dining
starting Monday. Philadelphia last week added an incentive for
restaurants to check vaccination status, saying that indoor dining
without masks can continue only if all patrons and workers are vaccinated.
San Francisco will begin enforcing one of the strictest rules Friday,
allowing only fully vaccinated people to dine indoors. Elsewhere in
California, Palm Springs and California City will begin requiring proof
of vaccination or a recent negative Covid-19 test for indoor dining and
drinking in the coming weeks. Los Angeles is weighing similar measures.
“Our economy is so dependent on tourism. It’s essential to be known that
we are safe,” said Palm Springs Mayor Christy Gilbert Holstege.
The proof-of-vaccine screening is the latest in a series of
pandemic-related requirements placed on restaurants over the last 18 months.
Many Watson’s Counter customers welcomed the move to require proof of
vaccination, its owner says, but the restaurant also has been on the
receiving end of hostility.
Some restaurants already requiring vaccination proof say they are
willing to do whatever it takes to avoid their dining rooms being closed
down again due to coronavirus surges. Owners say they believe loyal
customers will reward them with business and they are willing to endure
the criticism.
“We don’t want to get shut down again. It’s that simple,” said Dean
Lavine, owner of Palm Springs bar and restaurant Blackbook, which
started checking customers’ vaccination status earlier this month.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the prospect of being asked to show proof of
vaccination when dining out? Join the conversation below.
Others are skeptical about private businesses being asked to enforce
vaccine mandates. Some fear driving unvaccinated people away, or
confusing customers.
Laurie Thomas, owner of two San Francisco establishments and executive
director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, said she supports
the city’s new rules, but worries about her staff having to enforce the
mandate.
“Tell me the last time you were carded at a restaurant? It’s a different
level of training,” said Ms. Thomas, who wants the mandate to be widely
publicized so customers aren’t surprised.
Some restaurants requiring proof of vaccination say they are willing to
do whatever it takes to avoid another shutdown.
Business for restaurants was strong heading into the summer but has
slipped as the Covid-19 Delta variant has spread. Restaurant sales
growth in the week ended Aug. 1 was the slowest in nearly two months,
according to restaurant-analytics firm Black Box Intelligence. More
customers are mentioning Covid-19 safety practices in recent online
reviews, Black Box found.
Americans are split over needing to disclose vaccination status to dine out.
Janet Russell, a property manager from Arlington, Va, said she’s opposed
to rules requiring proof of vaccination. “These small businesses that
have already suffered tremendously during lockdown should not have to
shoulder the burden,” Ms. Russell said.
Restaurateurs are divided, too. Palm Springs businesses largely
supported the move before it was adopted, for example, while most
Colorado restaurants are opposed to proof-of-vaccine mandates out of
concern for their staff having to police customer compliance, according
to polls by local business groups. Some restaurant managers, fearing
lawsuits from disgruntled patrons, said they want clear guidelines from
local officials on how to determine vaccination status.
In New York City, restaurant operators are trying to determine how their
workers will verify customers’ vaccination status. The city order also
requires all restaurant workers to be vaccinated.
Executives at Shake Shack Inc., Panera Bread Co. and Applebee’s-parent
Dine Brands Global Inc. all said they intended to comply but are still
trying to understand the requirements.
“I do worry a little bit about the responsibility of checking ID cards,
and the place that puts our hosts and hostesses,” said Dine Chief
Executive John Peyton. “I’m hopeful that New Yorkers are respectful of
what’s now required.”
Surveys have found owners and consumers to be divided over vaccine
mandates for restaurants.
A survey of 536 consumers last month by market-research firm
Datassential found diners about evenly split over whether they would
comply with a proof-of-vaccination requirement at a restaurant.
“I understand the objections to it. People think it’s unfair,” said Sam
West, a 26-year-old Manhattan restaurant server. “But now I think of it
as a necessary evil.”
South Seattle small-plates restaurant Off Alley began requiring diners
to show proof of vaccination in late July. Co-owner Meghna Prakash said
customers have generally been supportive but online backlash is taking a
toll. Off Alley has received negative online reviews from people who
haven’t dined there, and she has been called discriminatory, Ms. Prakash
said.
“Making these policy decisions by ourselves is putting targets on our
backs,” she said.
Write to Heather Haddon at heather...@wsj.com
--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com
HeartDoc Andrew
Aug 15, 2021, 2:42:17 PM8/15/21
to
the U.S. & elsewhere is by rapidly ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
finding out at any given moment, including even while on-line, who
among us are unwittingly contagious (i.e pre-symptomatic or
asymptomatic) in order to http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John
15:12) for them to call their doctor and self-quarantine per their
doctor in hopes of stopping this pandemic. Thus, we're hoping for the
best while preparing for the worse-case scenario of the Alpha lineage
mutations and others like the Gamma, Beta, Epsilon, Iota, Lambda &
Delta lineage mutations combining to form hybrids that render current
COVID vaccines no longer effective.
Indeed, I am wonderfully hungry ( http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 )
and hope you, Michael, also have a healthy appetite too.
So how are you ?
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Cardiologist with an http://HeartMDPhD.com/EternalMedicalLicense
2024 & upwards non-partisan candidate for U.S. President:
http://HeartMDPhD.com/WonderfullyHungryPresident
and author of the 2PD-OMER Approach:
http://HeartMDPhD.com/HeartDocAndrewCare
which is the only **healthy** cure for the U.S. healthcare crisis
Michael Ejercito
Aug 16, 2021, 10:15:59 AM8/16/21
to
Michael
HeartDoc Andrew
Aug 16, 2021, 10:22:32 AM8/16/21
to
MichaelE wrote:
> I am wonderfully hungry!
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Suggested further reading:
https://groups.google.com/g/sci.med.cardiology/c/5EWtT4CwCOg/m/QjNF57xRBAAJ
Shorter link:
http://bit.ly/StatCOVID-19Test
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://HeartMDPhD.com/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all
glory ( http://HeartMDPhD.com/Psalm117_ ) to GOD, Who causes us to
hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us right now (Luke 6:21a)
thereby removing the http://HeartMDPhD.com/VAT from around the heart
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/convince_it_forward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Suggested further reading:
https://groups.google.com/g/sci.med.cardiology/c/5EWtT4CwCOg/m/QjNF57xRBAAJ
Shorter link:
http://bit.ly/StatCOVID-19Test
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://HeartMDPhD.com/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all
glory ( http://HeartMDPhD.com/Psalm117_ ) to GOD, Who causes us to
hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us right now (Luke 6:21a)
thereby removing the http://HeartMDPhD.com/VAT from around the heart
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
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