Rantz: Woke Seattle pizza shops shame unvaxxed, require vaccination for to-go orders
Nov 8, 2021, 6:00 PM | Updated: Nov 9, 2021, 5:38 am
Windy City Pie in Seattle states on its website that people who are "not voluntarily vaccinated" should not dine anywhere. (Screenshot of Windy City Pie's website)
(Screenshot of Windy City Pie's website)
Two woke Seattle pizza restaurants went one step further in displaying their COVID vaccination policies. They’re not merely in conflict with what we know about COVID. The two restaurants are actively taking a stand to shame the unvaccinated.
Windy City Pie says the unvaccinated should not be allowed to eat at restaurants. Its sister property Breezy Town Pizza says you must be vaccinated, even if you’re ordering food to-go.
These are policies you display when you want attention. I’ll happily oblige.
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No restaurant access for the unvaccinated
Windy City Pie is located in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood. It offers Chicago-style deep dish pizza and a bit of snark.
Its website offers up its COVID vaccination policy, which goes further than the mandate imposed by King County. While the county mandate allows for a testing option or to eat outside without paperwork, Windy City Pie offers neither. You must be fully vaccinated to dine indoors or outdoors. It’s virtually impossible to spread COVID outside. The website makes no notice of a testing option.
But Windy City Pie also offers some vaccination-shaming. The website reads: “INDOOR DINING IS FINALLY BACK! IF YOU ARE VOLUNTARILY NOT VACCINATED, PLEASE EAT ELSEWHERE NOWHERE.”
Have you got that? Eat “nowhere” because you’re unclean.
This isn’t a message merely citing its policy. It intends to make a statement and convey disdain for the unvaccinated. It’s a message that seems to only come from people who get vaccinated to claim some moral high ground; they’re vaccinated to shame others, not because they think it protects them.
Windy City Pie doesn’t seem to care that you’ve recently recovered from COVID and have natural immunity. Nor does it matter if you have a sincerely held religious conviction. Windy City Pie doesn’t want you to eat anywhere because its ownership and management are COVID heroes!
Picking up to-go orders? You better be vaccinated
At its sister property, Breezy Town Pizza in South Seattle focuses on Chicago and Detroit-inspired deep-dish pan pizza. Their policy is as bizarre and distasteful as its corn chowder pizza.
Like its other property, you must be vaccinated to eat indoors. But if you’re unvaccinated and plan on picking up a to-go order, you’ll be out of luck.
“We require proof of vaccination in order to enter our establishment, including to-go orders,” the website proclaims.
Given customers must wear masks while not eating, there’s zero risk of spreading COVID while picking up dinner at the counter.
What’s the point of this policy?
Neither Windy City Pie nor Breezy Town Pizza responded to requests for comment.
Founder Dave Lichterman appears to be hyper-partisan, which may explain why he’s using his restaurant to shame people whose medical decisions he disagrees with. But it also might put into perspective the policy as one to garner unearned social currency in a city that rewards people taking holier-than-thou stances, particularly if it’s viewed as political.
It seems obvious they’re firmly seated on the bandwagon of shaming people into getting a vaccine. It’s unlikely to work. If you’re arguably best-known nationally for having burnt pizza, unvaccinated may not feel too pushed into a vaccine.
To be clear, neither restaurant is violating any rules. They’re just exceeding the county-established regulations in order to make a statement. And they get to do just that.
But since they’re looking for attention, it seems reasonable to oblige their requests, albeit in a way it didn’t intend. They won’t earn some mention of #HeroBusiness on their next Yelp review from me because they’re pretending to fight a virus the owner doesn’t understand. The businesses should focus on the many poor Yelp reviews for poor service and burnt pizza and less on taking a medical stance for social currency.
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