Potential customers at a California cafe are being told they will be charged an additional fee if they place their order while wearing a personal, protective face mask.
“$5 FEE ADDED TO ORDERS PLACED WHILE WEARING A FACE MASK,” a new door sign reads, greeting customers as they enter the Fiddleheads Cafe in Mendocino.
The sign, which was put up on Sunday, includes a provision to charge the same fee for any patrons that are heard “bragging” about being vaccinated.
“AN ADDITIONAL $5 FEE WILL BE ADDED IF YOU ARE CAUGHT BRAGGING ABOUT YOUR VACCINE,” the sign continues, claiming the fee will be donated to Project Sanctuary, a local domestic abuse organization.
An identical sign is located at the register, where owner Chris Castleman defended the additional coronavirus-related fees as a choice.
“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,” Castleman told NBC News. “[And] I don’t force anyone to pay. I give them the freedom of choice, which seems to be a foreign concept in these parts of the country.”
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“It’s about time that the proponents of these ineffective government measures start paying for the collateral damage they have collectively caused,” he continued.
“I’ve been told this whole time that wearing a mask is a small price to pay,” Castleman added. “Some people get shocked by the sign, but to see them turn around and get disgusted … when they’re asked to pay $5 [for charity], it’s not in their wheelhouse. It’s not something they’re choosing to do.”
This is not the first time the cafe has adopted a policy unique to the coronavirus pandemic, according to nearby business owner Meredith Smith.
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In April 2020, Castleman announced any customer that ripped off and threw away their face mask would receive 50% off their entire order.
“What’s happening is that we’re on the same corner,” said Smith, who owns and operates the Mendocino Cafe across the street. “I get a lot of feedback directed at him. They think I’m him, we’re across the street from one another.”
Smith said a previous exchange with Castleman did not go well, and she has not attempted to engage with him since.
Despite the negative publicity, Castleman said he is sticking with the new policy for at least a couple of months.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is intending to reopen and lift California’s coronavirus restrictions on June 15.
