Fiddleheads Cafe in Mendocino, CA, charges patrons $5 for wearing a mask while ordering their food. However, if you toss your mask, the cafe will give you a 50% discount.
On the plus side, the cafe donates the $5 to Project Sanctuary, which helps domestic abuse victims.
From NBC News:
In March, the cafe announced an ongoing 50 percent discount for those who throw their face coverings in the trash, said owner Chris Castleman, 34.”I don’t think $5 to charity is too much to ask from mask wearing customers who claim to care so much about the community they live in,” he said by email.Proceeds will go to Project Sanctuary, a local domestic abuse organization, for two weeks before a new nonprofit enters the rotation, Castleman said. (Project Sanctuary did not immediately respond to a request for comment).”It’s about time that the proponents of these ineffective government measures start paying for the collateral damage they have collectively caused,” the owner said.
Here is a screenshot of the TikTok video that made the story go viral.
Castleman has been an outspoken opponent of the California lockdowns. He makes no apologies for his sign:
Fiddleheads Cafe owner Chris Castleman stands by his sign, however. By his own estimation, the reception to the discount from customers has been 50-50, “you either love it or you hate it,” he said. Castleman said that since he’s posted the sign, he’s received a number of bogus, negative reviews on Google from people who have not been to his cafe, but rather detest his mask protest.“It’s very alarming how people have gotten all up in arms about this sign — the sign isn’t breaking any law or any ordinances,” Castleman told SFGATE. “If people are upset with it, they don’t have to come here. … My point is, if you don’t like me, that’s fine. I respect that opinion of yours, and you can go anywhere else in this county right now to eat and pretend that you’re in a safe environment.”
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