California restaurant owner suing Newsom says 'he has to feel the pain' for 'reckless decisions'
Gov. Newsom must be 'held accountable' for hurting businesses amid COVID, Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill owner Angela Marsden said
California restaurant owner Angela Marsden argued on Wednesday that Gov. Gavin Newsom must be “held accountable” for his “reckless decisions," which she said was “not based on science.”
Marsden, who appeared in a recent viral video, is among several business owners filing a lawsuit against Newsom over coronavirus restrictions, including the ban on outdoor and indoor dining.
“He has to feel the pain” business owners have been feeling throughout the pandemic, Marsden told “Varney & Co.” on Wednesday while describing why she decided to sue the governor.
Marsden, who owns Pineapple Hill Saloon & Grill in Los Angeles, has repeatedly argued that she believes the restrictions enacted by the governor have hurt businesses and failed to slow the spread of the virus.
Marsden gained popularity last month when she posted a video of a movie company's outdoor dining area being allowed to operate right next to her outdoor area that was ordered shut by state authorities.
On Wednesday, Marsden told host Stuart Varney that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti “made some really bad choices.”
“They should come out and apologize and say they’re going to rethink things and they’re going to open everybody up partially because there’s still places closed even with outdoor dining that have been closed for ten months,” she continued.
A spokesperson from Garcetti and Newsom's office did not immediately respond to FOX Business’ request for comment.
Marsden said she is doing “bad” financially because of the restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
“I lost over half a million dollars in revenue last year,” she told Varney. “I’m in debt about $300,000 just trying to stay open.”
She added that she is “extremely grateful and humbled by all the people from all over the world that donated” to her restaurant, adding that the funds “literally gave me til April to pull through if we didn’t get open.”
On Monday, Newsom announced restaurants statewide are clear to reopen for outdoor dining.
California is experiencing a “flattening of the curve,” Newsom said during a virtual news conference. “Everything that should be up is up, everything that should be down is down — case rates, positivity rates, hospitalizations, ICUs.”
The data noticeably improved since last month, when some Southern California hospitals overwhelmed by coronavirus patients were crafting emergency plans for rationing care.
California’s latest and worst surge of the pandemic started in mid-October. In a little more than two months, the state reported more than 2 million coronavirus cases and hospitalizations grew nearly tenfold to near 22,000.
CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN IN CALIFORNIA FORCES BUSINESS TO FLEE THE STATE
Garcetti said Los Angeles will align with county rules allowing outdoor dining at restaurants starting Friday.
Marsden told Varney she plans to reopen for outdoor dining starting on Saturday. However, she noted that she faces “tremendous” issues, including significant rain and the fact that she does not currently have a full staff on hand.
She added that she’s also worried that her restaurant will be forced to close again at any moment.
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Marsden also addressed President Biden’s push to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of a broader coronavirus relief package, stressing that business owners “were already struggling before the pandemic.”
In California, the minimum wage for large employers rose to $14 per hour this year.
“Businesses were going out of business left and right from the increase of the minimum wage,” Marsden noted of California.
“I can’t imagine implementing it across the country,” she continued. “I mean, just look at L.A. County and what it’s done to the businesses here and that will give you a good look at what it will look like across the country.”
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Fox News’ Roman Chiarello, FOX Business’ Brittany De Lea and The Associated Press contributed to this report.