Cafe that defied COVID rules closes after new landlord orders changes, CA owner says
A California cafe owner who added an extra fee for mask wearers during the COVID-19 pandemic is shutting down his restaurant after the new lease offer required that he no longer post “controversial signage or writings.”
Chris Castleman, who owns Fiddleheads Cafe in Mendocino, said he didn’t agree to the new lease after the building was recently sold to new owners and that his lease was then canceled without explanation, SFGate reported.
The new lease offer, which was month-to-month and would run through Sept. 7, requested that Castleman comply with “any orders, laws, or mandates of government” and no longer post “controversial signage or writing” or create “further publicity related to the business, of any kind, regarding mask wearing or vaccinations,” according to the agreement Castleman sent to McClatchy News.
Castleman told McClatchy News that the lease was offered in “bad faith” and that he didn’t plan to re-open the cafe at a different location.
The cafe’s last day will be July 4, Castleman said.
Castleman shut down the cafe last year after he was fined for “pandemic safety violations,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The restaurant incited controversy in April when Castleman offered 50% off orders for customers who threw their masks into the trash, McClatchy News reported.
The cafe also put up a sign in May that read, “$5 fee added to orders placed while wearing a face mask.”
The landlord told the San Francisco Chronicle that they’ve “faced harassment” from Castleman’s supporters since the signs gained national attention and that they’ve gotten “negative feedback” from the community.
“This is a business and since we will be losing money in the short term with the decision to end his lease, it’s just indicative of the magnitude to which Mr. Castleman’s beliefs have interfered and added risk to the overall business,” they said in an email to the Chronicle.
California has had more than 3.7 million coronavirus cases as of June 30, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.