This pandemic has been hell for restaurants. The lockdown forced many to move to takeout only and this has led many eateries to close their doors for good since their food is not as good to go. The livelihoods of many Americans are being affected by these lockdowns. Family restaurants that have been open for decades have been disappearing, closed for good. Mike Mangano the co-owner of Taste of Sicily in Palmyra, Pennsylvania, said enough is enough and opened his restaurant, including the dining area. The city tried to fine him to force him to close the dining area, but he refused to comply. Mangano said it was life or death for his family and in a surprising turn of events, it looks like the courts agree with him.
“Some rob you with a gun, while others rob you with a pen,” co-owner Mike Mangano declared to PennLive at the time, referring to Gov. Wolf’s Lockdown fine. “We ain’t paying crap.”
The restaurant opened at full capacity in May — a violation of Wolf’s shutdown orders — and the eatery didn’t require masks or social distancing, and plexiglass barriers weren’t up, the station said.
Mangano cited financial struggles for the decision to reopen.
The restaurant’s attorney Eric Winter said as much, telling the station “the business needed it. The family needed it, and they needed to do things to survive. They went ahead and reopened. And at that point, they had great support from the local level elected officials.”
But not from the state government. The Department of Agriculture delivered citations to the Taste of Sicily with fines amounting to $10,000.”
“The restaurant took those citations to court and pleaded not guilty. Judge Carl Garver ruled the family business was unconstitutionally cited and the restaurant was found not guilty.”
Governor Wolf plans to appeal the case.
You can see the Governor’s response to the judgment in the second clip below.
I asked @GovernorTomWolf to comment on the Lebanon county restaurant “Taste of Sicily” that won the lawsuit against him on Friday. Here’s his response:@CBS21NEWS pic.twitter.com/2A9qAkLqLY
— Asia Tabb (@asiaontv) October 19, 2020
This is a rare occurrence where a restaurant was not only able to fully open, they are also dodging a fine over refusing to abide by Pandemic rules. But really this should be a choice. No has to dine there. It is the choice of the customer to dine in during the pandemic. This family needed to open their business or they were going to struggle to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. Can you really blame them for opening?
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