While some California bars and restaurants are flying off the deep end into COVID paranoia, one Huntington Beach restaurant, Basilico’s Pasta e Vino is railing against overzealous COVID protocols implemented by both government and private sectors by making a statement of its own: “Proof of being Unvaccinated required.”
Owner Tony Roman told NBC LA he has been prepared for a constitutional fight since the COVID mania began.
“Our American way of life is under attack,” Roman wrote in a statement to NBC LA. “And I feel blessed to be on the front lines of this battle in defense of Liberty and Freedom, willing to put everything at risk for it, pledging our business as a ‘Constitutional Battleground’ since day one of the lockdowns on March 19th, 2020.”
Roman already built a reputation as a constitutional vanguard at the start of the pandemic, declaring his restaurant a mask-free zone and remaining open when many restaurants closed for indoor dining in March 2020, the LA Times reported.
The restaurant was slapped with fines of more than $150,000 by the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety over four COVID-19 safety violations, according to Cal/OSHA records, but Roman has already indicated he has no intention of paying the penalties in an epic Instagram video interspersed with clips from The Godfather, KTLA reported.
“We have never complied with any restrictions since, and when the tiny tyrants go on the attack with new mandates, we fire back launching new missiles of defiance,” Roman wrote in an e-mailed statement to the LA Times. “And with the new and aggressive push for mandatory vax policies, we couldn’t resist, so we are sending a message of our own. Hopefully most are smart enough to read between the lines. Otherwise we will just sit back and have fun watching their heads explode over it.”
Flyers posted outside of Roman’s restaurant read, “Notice: Proof of being unvaccinated required. We have zero tolerance for treasonous, anti-American stupidity. Thank you for pondering.”
KTLA reports Roman posted a Facebook video this week to announce the new policy, explaining it came in direct response to renewed mask mandates around the country, including in neighboring Los Angeles County.
In the video, Roman said he was prepared to “go into battle against the little dictators of the lockdowns” and invited fellow business owners, as well as community leaders, to follow his lead and adopt his “aggressive and uncompromising blueprint for battling and defeating the wannabe-dictators waging war on American liberty.”
Meanwhile, as Roman wages war against government overreach and private-sector compliance, there is a growing list of bars and restaurants throughout the San Francisco Bay area that are implementing vaccine and/or test policies, according to Mercury News.
Yet, COVID outbreaks amongst the vaccinated continue to undermine these protocols.
As of July 12, the CDC reported more than 5,000 breakthrough COVID cases resulting in hospitalization or death, Life Site News reported. There are many more breakthrough COVID cases that are not being recorded by the CDC because they have not resulted in hospitalization or death, Life Site News reported.
Predictably, Roman’s stance has prompted backlash, with dozens of residents leaving negative comments on the restaurant’s social-media pages and low ratings on the restaurant’s Yelp page, prompting Yelp to temporarily disable posting on the page.
But Roman was prepared for the response, and took to Facebook to welcome the visceral hatred from the COVID fearmongers.
“Here come the haters, and with it, the harassing non-stop phone calls, threats and hundreds of one star reviews. And guess what? We at Basilico’s Pasta e Vino wear it as a badge of honor.”
The post added: “We feel blessed to go into battle against all of you in defense of American liberty and freedom, so bring it on!”
Not all pro-vaccine, pro-maskers are offended by Roman’s position, however.
KABC interviewed Tanya Scheer, a haircutter at a nearby barber shop, who said that she does not take issue with Roman’s signs or feel particularly unwelcomed by them.
“No, because you got other places that want you vaccinated to come in. No different, right? So no,” Scheer said.
Of course, there is no feasible way for patrons to provide proof of unvaccinated status, and a staff member told the LA Times that the restaurant is not actually going to request documentation. Rather, the policy is meant to make a statement.
That it did, and one that is well-received by Americans who have grown weary of COVID paranoia.
“Amen to you! Continue to stand strong…. You are a true American. I will come visit your establishment and be proud to enter with NO MASK!” one Instagram user posted in response to Roman’s Godfather video.
Basilico’s new policy announcement on Instagram, though peppered with negative remarks by the pro-vax, pro-mask crowd, garnered 5,164 likes.
