https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/cafe-adds-350-fee-customers-24216293?utm_source=mirror_newsletter&utm_campaign=daily_evening_newsletter2&utm_medium=emailCafe adds £3.50 fee for customers wearing face mask or 'bragging about having jab'
The eatery's owner previously claimed any visitors who threw their mask in the bin would be given 50 per cent off their order and now a neighbouring business is getting the blame
By Nina Lloyd Freelance reporter
17:39, 30 MAY 2021
A cafe in California has stunned locals by fining customers $5 (£3.52) for wearing face masks inside or bragging about getting the Covid jab. Fiddlehead’s Cafe in Mendocino pinned a sign to the shop window earlier this week outlining the bizarre new service rules. It reads: “$5 FEE ADDED TO ORDERS PLACED WHILE WEARING A FACE MASK" and adds in small-print there will be an additional fee boasting about vaccination status. Owner Chris Castleman, 34, has said he objects to mask-wearing mandates because people should be given the freedom to decide for themselves how they handle the pandemic. He previously announced in April that customers who throw their mask in the trash would be given 50 per cent off their order. Castleman claims that the fees will be donated to a domestic abuse charity, telling local media outlet SFGate: "I’ve been told this whole time that wearing a mask is a small price to pay. "Some people get shocked by the sign but to see them turn around and get disgusted when they’re asked to pay $5 [for charity], it’s not in their wheelhouse. It’s not something they’re choosing to do".
The cafe's business page was temporarily disabled on Yelp by Thursday to block reviews being posted about the sign. But neighbouring restaurant Mendocino Cafe, which in contrast asks customers to wear masks to protect against Covid, has now been taking the blame instead, according to its owner Meredith Smith. "What’s happening is that we’re on the same corner,†Smith said.
“I get a lot of feedback directed at him. They think I’m him, we’re across the street from one another.â€
Smith says Castleman did not engage with her when she approached him about the issue previously and she has since given up. Castleman has said the sign will be kept up for at least a couple of months. Mendocino County is currently in California's yellow reopening tier, which allows hospitality venues to operate with indoor service at 50 per cent capacity. As of May 27, more than 81,600 vaccine doses have been administered across the county, according to California All.
