Emotions are running very high for a local restaurant owner whose video has gone viral on social media over the weekend.
Outdoor dining was banned in LA County recently as coronavirus cases surged. LA County also issued a new Safer at Home order in recent weeks to curb cases as case loads go up. While outdoor dining is now forbidden in the city and county of Los Angeles, you can still go inside of a retail store to shop, you can still walk around an indoor mall. It's the seeming contradiction in science that's driving a lot of restaurant owners crazy, especially since outdoor dining was a financial lifeline that was keeping the doors open to many eateries.
The viral video below on Twitter shows her outdoor dining area, which is being forced to shut down, just feet away from an almost identical dining area being set up for a movie shoot.
"I have to tell you I wake up every morning and I am just in tears and in awe of the human compassion and support. The outpouring of people was unbelievable," Angela Marsden, owner-operator of The Pineapple Hill Saloon in Sherman Oaks, told KNX 1070's Mike Simpson and Chris Sedens during KNX In-Depth Monday.
Because of the new restrictions Marsden has no choice but to shut down her outdoor dining setup. For so many like Marsden, outdoor dining was the financial life-line that was keeping their business alive.
She said she cares about her customers.
"We are in this business because we love our people. We care about them. The last thing in the world I wanted on my chest is knowing I gave somebody COVID and then they passed away. This community is my family," she says.
Marsden says she did everything like plexiglass for her bar, temperature checks for the customers and staff, gloves, masks, face shields and moved operations outdoors. She said some of her tables were seven feet apart. She says she put a to-go window in so people wouldn't come in.
She said she did everything "for the safety of the community." She explained she had 15 employees and went down to four employees when it was just take-out. She said she is up to 10 employees right now.
Marsden said "I hope the production company hears this because I keep saying this. The arbitrary decisions that politicians are making seems to pit us against each other. The entertainment industry has been hit hard - they are just trying to survive but you're shutting people down. You're destroying the economy and you are going to have massive evictions. People are running out of unemployment. Be smart. Take the money and supply free testing for the small businesses. so they can test their employees."
