NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Famed New York City restaurateur Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, said Wednesday it will require diners who want to eat inside to provide proof of a COVID-19 booster by next month.
Meyer said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" that all staff members at USGH will be required to receive a booster shot within 30 days of their eligibility, effective immediately. Indoor diners will have to have a booster dose in mid-January.
Meyer's restaurant group, which operates notable restaurants including Union Square Cafe, Daily Provisions and Gramercy Tavern, said the move comes amid the highly contagious omicron variant and surging COVID-19 cases.
"At this point, the science has changed," he said. "We now know that fully vaccinated, includes boosters ... things have moved so rapidly and truly it's an easier decision. What has been a little bit tougher has been watching this crushing wave of omicron sweeping through New York City and certainly through the country."
Meyer has paused service at Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, The Modern, Marta, Ci Siamo, Intersect by Lexus and Porchlight, which are slated to reopen with resumed service on Dec. 29 or before.
"As tough as it is to be making that decision to pause during what should be the busiest two weeks of the year, that's a big deal. Its actually an easy decision," he said.
In July, Meyer announced that the USGH would require staff and dine-in guests at his restaurants to be vaccinated. On Wednesday, Meyer said 100% of his staff are fully vaccinated.
"There were a few holdouts who said, 'this is not something I want to do,' and we respected that and we told those people if we change your mind we want to hire you back," Meyer added. "We've even had a couple of those."
Meyer, who also founded Shake Shack, said the burger chain will make its own decision on requiring booster shots.
He also said the restaurant group, which also runs Anchovy Social in Washington, D.C., is considering using COVID rapid tests for employees and diners.
"We're accessing all kinds of testing for our team because we believe that the minute anybody has a symptom, that if they could do that for themselves at home, or if certainly we could do that at the restaurant ... We think that that's going to have a great deal of effect in terms of stemming the wave," he added.
