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California restaurant says patrons must show 'proof of being unvaccinated'

The restaurant's owner said his establishment has not complied with any of the state's restrictions.
Image: Basilico's Pasta E Vino
Basilico's Pasta e Vino in Huntington Beach, Calif. Google

A California restaurant owner is turning heads with a sign outside his establishment that asks patrons to show "proof of being unvaccinated."

The sign is taped to the window of Basilico's Pasta e Vino, an Italian restaurant in Huntington Beach southeast of Los Angeles. "We have zero tolerance for treasonous, anti-American stupidity. Thank you for pondering," text at the bottom of the sign reads.

Taped to the front door of the restaurant were two anti-mask posters. The establishment shared images of its signs on Facebook, writing: "More American counties, cities, and businesses doubling down on anti-American lockdown mandates? Well 'Basilico's Pasta e Vino' just tripled down: From day one, never complied, banned masks, and now ... requiring proof of being Un-vaccinated!"

The restaurant's owner, Tony Roman, could not be reached for comment Thursday. He told NBC Los Angeles that he is pledging the Italian eatery as a "constitutional battleground."

"Our American way of life is under attack," he said in a statement to the station. "And I feel blessed to be on the front lines of this battle in defense of Liberty and Freedom, willing to put everything at risk for it, pledging our business as a 'Constitutional Battleground' since day one of the lockdowns on March 19th, 2020."

Roman said that the restaurant has not complied with any of the state's restrictions. According to KTTV-TV of Los Angeles, he refused to allow his employees to wear masks and forbade customers from wearing them. If patrons wanted to enter the restaurant, they had to remove their masks.

Roman told NBC Los Angeles in his statement: "We have never complied with any restrictions since, and when the tiny tyrants go on the attack with new mandates, we fire back launching new missiles of defiance. And with the new and aggressive push for mandatory vax policies, we couldn't resist, so we are sending a message of our own. Hopefully, most are smart enough to read between the lines. Otherwise, we will just sit back and have fun watching their heads explode over it."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been urging residents to get vaccinated against Covid-19. He said Thursday on Twitter that over 100,000 vaccinations were reported Wednesday, the most in three weeks.