In-N-Out Burger has closed the dining rooms at all five of its Contra Costa County locations rather than enforce the local requirement to check for proof of COVID-19 vaccination, county officials said on Wednesday.
A Contra Costa Health Services spokesperson told KCBS Radio in a statement on Wednesday that the burger chain informed county officials it "had ceased indoor dining" at its Brentwood, Pinole, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill and San Ramon locations. The restaurants are now in compliance with county health orders, according to the spokesperson, because proof of vaccination or testing verification aren’t required for take-out and drive-thru customers.
In-N-Out did so a day after Contra Costa County officials suspended the commercial food permit at the chain's Pleasant Hill restaurant "for creating a public health hazard" after it "repeatedly" allowed indoor diners without checking for proof of vaccination.
A spokesperson for the Southern California-based burger chain reiterated Chief Legal and Business Officer Arnie Wensinger’s statement that In-N-Out refuses "to become the vaccination police for any government," later confirming in a separate email the chain had stopped serving indoor diners at its Pinole and San Ramon restaurants.
Officials said the San Ramon In-N-Out Burger was fined $250 on Monday for violating the county health order, which requires restaurants and other indoor venues to check customers over the age of 12 for proof of COVID-19 vaccination. A second violation would've resulted in a $500 fine, while subsequent ones within a year of the first violation would cost $1,000.
San Francisco also requires proof of vaccination for indoor dining, and the Department of Public Health closed In-N-Out’s Fisherman’s Wharf location for indoor dining on Oct. 14. Public health officials confirmed to KCBS Radio on Tuesday that they are investigating a claim the restaurant served indoor diners after the closure.
Wensinger has called the requirement "clear governmental overreach" in multiple statements, echoing the thoughts of Republican politicians and organizations the company and its top officials have previously donated to. In July, for instance, In-N-Out Burger donated $40,000, just two months before the election to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom, who overwhelmingly remained in office, said Wednesday at a media availability in Alameda County he wouldn't "get caught up in the situation and issues" as it becomes a pandemic-era cultural and political flashpoint, calling In-N-Out Burger "one of our great, home-based businesses."
"At the same time, they have some differences of opinion as it relates to some of these county edicts, and we have to work through them," Newsom said. "But you know what, through this pandemic, there's been thousands of examples like this. Some get highlighted, some don't."
"I encourage everybody to take seriously local health orders, and I encourage everybody to support businesses that support this state," he added. "I appreciate that they're a headquartered, California-based company."
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