If you are not vaccinated for COVID-19, a Fairfax, Virginia, restaurant is not letting you dine inside.
Pho, Banh Mi & Grill has put in place a new policy that only allows people to eat inside its dining room if customers show their completed vaccination card.
The restaurant’s owner Francis Do, said he came up with his new policy after seeing President Joe Biden earlier this week express frustration over people who have not gotten vaccinated.
“That’s the only way we can stop this invisible virus,” Do said.
For those not vaccinated, or those who don’t arrive with proof that they have received the vaccine, they must dine at an outdoor table, according to Do.
Also, he requires those people to also sanitize their hands before touching a menu and call in their order from their table.
“We do (it) like a prisoner,” Do said jokingly about the new policy.
He said those who are not vaccinated will also get encouragement from him to get the vaccine, as well as information on where shots are available.
He said in the short term, he knows this policy may hurt business; but he’s doing it to protect other diners, himself and his business.
Among his concerns, more closures if new cases of COVID-19 and the rapidly spreading delta variant continue to rise.
Do is also hopeful that it will encourage more people to get vaccinated, especially if other restaurants follow his lead.
On what he’s doing, Do said he told neighboring restaurants, “I don’t want you to shut down your business. I don’t want to shut down my business.”
Do admits the new rules are not being well received by everyone.
In the four days the vaccination requirement has been in place, 25 potential customers have decided not to eat at the restaurant, he said.
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