The founder of Barstool Sports ripped into restrictions banning indoor dining throughout New York City before suggesting that “this country is never going to be the same.”
Dave Portnoy blasted an indoor dining ban that he said will likely decimate the small-business restaurant industry in the city.
“New York City just closed indoor dining. What do they think is going to happen? What do they think’s going to happen to thousands of restaurants? They’re done,” Portnoy said. “The bar and restaurant industry and small businesses have been squeezed and squeezed and squeezed, and they’ve tried everything.”
Politicians Are Stealing the Basic Right To Earn A Living pic.twitter.com/9Yx9Vf1iP1
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 11, 2020
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who recently published the book American Crisis: Lessons in Leadership, announced that beginning Monday, all indoor dining options in the city will be closed indefinitely as the number of coronavirus cases in the city continues to rise.
Portnoy, who has repeatedly questioned policy guidelines that have hurt small businesses throughout the coronavirus pandemic, listed all the ways in which diners in the city have responsibly adopted safety guidelines to “save their livelihoods” but noted that the ban would render all of that work useless and send many of these businesses into ruin.
“They’ve spent decades of blood, sweat, and tears building,” Portnoy said. “Now, a few politicians in New York City’s like, ‘Nah, you’re done. We’re shutting it down. No indoor dining.’ How do you expect these people to survive? What, people are going to go out to dinner now in ice-cold temperatures? It’s insanity.”
Portnoy said that “the vaccine is coming” and suggested that people who are “health-compromised” remain at home until suitable therapeutics can be administered to the public.
“I can’t believe, in this country, what I consider the most basic right of them all, the right to earn a living, the right to earn a livelihood, is now being stolen. It is being stolen by a few politicians who believe they are smarter than me and you,” Portnoy said. “They believe they have a right to tell me and you how to live our lives. Something you could never imagine. Basic freedoms, they are stealing, and I’m not overstating it. They’re stealing it.”
Portnoy pointed out the arbitrary nature of differing COVID-19 restrictions between counties within a state, saying that in Miami, where he is staying, he can’t go out after midnight, but that if he drives 30 miles to Tampa Bay, the rules are completely different.
The Bostonian blamed governors who have forced shut what they deem to be “nonessential businesses,” such as restaurants and bars. Portnoy said the United States “is never going to be the same” because of the lockdowns in many places, such as New York City.
“Look at the buildings, look at the restaurants, boards after boards after boards, ‘out of business,’ rent signs. This is because of the way the government has handled it,” Portnoy said. “Let people f—ing decide for themselves.”
