NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Popular NYC French fare restaurant Balthazar may require those dining indoors to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination, owner Keith McNally said in a social media post Friday.
The well-known restaurateur mused about the decision for his SoHo eatery on Instagram in response to Danny Meyer’s announcement that all staff and dine-in guests at his restaurants will be required to be vaccinated.
“I’m afraid I agree with this. If it’s legal, I may do the same at Balthazar” he said in the social media caption.
Meyer’s vaccination requirement goes into effect on Sept. 7 at his hospitality group’s restaurants, which include Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke and The Modern.
McNally, who hails from London but came to New York City in the 1970s, has been a part of a prolific slate of eateries as well — including Café Luxembourg, Nell’s, Pravda, Pastis, Schiller’s, Morandi, Minetta Tavern and Lucky Strike, the last of which shuttered early in the pandemic.
McNally himself was hospitalized in London due to the virus in April 2020. He said in a Daily Beast interview that doctors told him he had a “50% chance of dying.”