A California cafe owner is charging customers with face coverings an extra $5 to eat at his business, saying that proponents of government measures surrounding COVID-19 should pay for collateral damage.
Chris Castleman, owner of Fiddleheads Cafe in Mendocino, Calif., had a sign placed outside his business Sunday to make customers aware of the additional cost for those who choose to wear masks, NBC News reported.
He told NBC News after he was forced to close his business during the pandemic after the government said mask wearing was required:
The government shut everything down. Everyone wearing a mask is complicit.
Castleman said that the additional revenue coming from mask wearing customers will go to a charity of his choice. Project Sanctuary, a local domestic abuse organization is the current recipient of the funds but a new charity will be the beneficiary in two weeks.
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.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines this month, saying that masks are not necessary in most settings for people who are vaccinated.
California was one of the first states to implement a lockdown early on in the pandemic, forcing small businesses to close.
In March, Castleman offered a 50 percent discount for customers who throw their face coverings in the garbage.
I don't believe in mask wearing. Our customer base has been strongly aligned with our beliefs, but I think some are really angry at our cafe.