A Texas couple was kicked out of a restaurant earlier this month for wearing masks, a protective measure they employ to shield their immunocompromised newborn from COVID-19 (watch CNN interview above).
The incident took place at Hang Time Sports Grill & Bar, located about 20 miles northeast of Dallas.
The owner of Hang Time Sports Grill & Bar in Rowlett, Texas kicked out a husband and wife couple because they were wearing a mask in his restaurant. They have an immunocompromised infant so they are extra cautious and wear masks. They are also vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/0CzDCkIjnF
— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) September 19, 2021
Natalie Wester and Jose Lopez-Guerrero, whose four-month old son has cystic fibrosis, were set to enjoy a rare night out; a grandparent was watching their infant.
When they arrived at the restaurant, they were told to remove their masks. Natalie assumed it was so their faces could be compared to the photos on their driver’s licenses. They re-applied their masks as they waited for their food.
Wester told CNN what happened next:
“About 30 minutes in, our waitress comes over and she sits down next to me and she’s like, ‘Hey, so our manager is over there in the kitchen, and he is not as nice as I am so I came over here to talk to you and unfortunately, this is a political thing, but our manager does not believe in the mask. He’s tired of being told what to do by, you know, politics in the country, and so you’re going to need to take the mask off,” Wester said.
Wester told the Washington Post that “she informed the server of their son’s disease, which is genetic and can be life-threatening. The server told her they could pay their bill and leave if following the restaurant’s no-mask policy was a problem.”
Wester said she was “speechless.”
“We didn’t want to make a scene,” she said. “We didn’t want to walk out on our tab or anything. I just paid and we left.”
It’s the owner’s business, so he should do what he wants. But this is the inevitable outcome of right wingers’ insistence that liberals support public-health restrictions not because they believe they’re effective, but out of a desire to control or virtue signal. https://t.co/SRByUCFhlX
— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) September 21, 2021
Restaurant owner Tom Blackmer told The Post that he was within his rights to enforce a dress code. More from the Post:
“Blackmer said he implemented the ban in April because he doesn’t think masks stop covid-19 from spreading and criminals can use them to get away with a robbery, theft or vandalism in a place where his two adult children work.
“I’m not doing things that put them at risk,” he said.”
Wester posted about the experience on social media.
Blackmer complained that he’s since been inundated with criticism. He told the Post that someone doxxed him on Twitter, which forced him to move to a second apartment he owns.
The Post continues:
“This town is trying to burn me down,” [Blackmer] said. “They are just vicious.”
But, Blackmer added, he doesn’t plan on ending the ban and doesn’t regret enforcing it on Sept. 10, when Wester and Lopez were in his restaurant.
“This is right,” he said, “and if we don’t have a business next week, we’ll be fine.”