San Francisco Closes In-N-Out Burger After Defying City’s Vaccine Rule

By Jefferey Jaxen and Patrick Layton

UPDATE: The In-N-Out Location, San Francisco’s sole In-N-Out Burger Restaurant, has since reopened for take out and outdoor dining.

In-N-Out Burger’s Chief Legal and Business Officer, Arnie Wensinger, is set to release a statement after the San Francisco Department of Health closed one of the Top California Burger Restaurant’s locations. 

“Today, the San Francisco Department of Health closed our restaurant…” he wrote. According to Wensingers statement, In-N-Out Burger employees were allegedly “not preventing the entry of customers who were not carrying proper vaccination documentation.”

Beyond the famous California institution’s location “properly and clearly” posting signage to communicate local vaccination requirements, the SFDH has attempted to require In-N-Out Burger employees to act as health police and enforcement personnel for the city.

He explains, “After closing our restaurant, local regulators informed us that our restaurant Associates must actively intervene by demanding proof of vaccination and photo identification from every customer…barring entry for any Customers without proper documentation.”   

Wensigner opened up further in the statement saying they are committed to the highest level of customer service & making all feel welcome. 

“We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government. It is unreasonable, invasive, and unsafe to force our restaurant associates to segregate customers,” wrote Wensigner. 

In late August, San Francisco became one of the first major U.S. cities to require proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to enter indoor restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters, and other entertainment venues. 

New York City’s policy went into effect on August 17, and the city began to enforce the requirements as of September 13. Inspectors for New York City have reportedly given numerous violations of $1,000 for failing to check vaccination cards.

Some fast-food chains shut their seating areas altogether, sacrificing sales and bottom lines to appease city health rules.

Federal and State Vaccine Mandates have fueled a great divide in the U.S., pitting businesses, unions, legislators, and neighbors against one another based on their firmly held beliefs on the issue.

 
Further fueling the division are inconsistent actions from public officials like CA Governor Gavin Newsom. It was recently reported that Newsom, who is publicly driving Lockdowns and Vaccine mandates, does not vaccinate his own daughter. In addition to that, CA Assemblyman Kevin Kiley tweeted that the embattled Governor is fighting to remove the vaccine mandate for a union that reportedly gave over $1 million to his campaign.

For In-n-Out Burger, they are not alone as employees, employers, unions, public employees, and even Governors across the nation are signaling their distaste for a mandate Arnie Wensinger describes as a “government dictate that forces a private company to discriminate against customers who choose to patronize their business.”

The statement concludes with a declaration that leaves no doubt about where the famous Burger Institution stands.

“This clear governmental overreach and is intrusive, improper, and offensive.”

Visit The HighWire’s News page for more breaking news and Headlines.