A restaurant called Mooyah Burgers, Fries, and Shake is owned by Art and Nick Depole in Times Square. The owners of the business said that they lost up to 25% of their sales after NYC implemented its vaccine mandate.
Insider was told by the co-owner, Art Depole of Mooyah Burgers, Fries, and Shake that the establishment was not getting business from customers because of the mandate. The restaurant industry, according to him, was unfairly targeted because it was “the easy target.”
Last week, a new rule was implemented in New York City requiring those eating at restaurants to show a vaccine passport.
Depole said he understood the reasoning of the mandate but in the same week, he estimated that his restaurant’s sales fell by 20-25%, particularly during the weekday lunch hour and the weekend.
Insider talked to restaurants that enforced vaccine mandates and discovered that some customers had left negative reviews and threatened to cause a scene because of the policy.
A vaccine mandate, according to Depole, was “very polarizing” compared to mask mandates in the past and, in response to the loss of business, he said he might raise prices in his restaurant.
“The previous week in which the Delta variant was still spreading was far better in sales then last week was, I believe, from speaking to people, that it’s more because of the mandate,” he said.
“I never had one incident with a customer who gave me a hard time when they were asked to wear a mask,” he continued.
According to Depole, “We’re being singled out as someone who has to enforce this mandate while other large retailers aren’t having to go through the same type of requirements that we are to allow customers to enter.”
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