Popular Portland, Maine Restaurant Asks Unvaccinated Guests To Dine Elsewhere
Despite having strong vaccination numbers statewide, Maine has seen increased COVID-19 case numbers recently as the delta variant surges across the country. After so many businesses got crushed in 2020 with restrictions in place, one Portland, Maine restaurant has decided to be proactive in protecting their staff, even if it means upsetting some would-be guests.
Shared on Facebook, popular eatery Little Giant stated on social media that they are now a "adult-vaccination" restaurant. They clarified that designation by stating that anyone who has been fully vaccinated may enter Little Giant and enjoy a meal. Those who are unvaccinated or half-vaccinated are being asked not to visit and make plans to dine somewhere else. Little Giant did state in their post that vaccine ineligible children and adults can still visit the restaurant but must dine outdoors.
As you may suspect, Little Giant was met with hundreds of angry comments on their Facebook post.
As you can see, most angry commenters seemed to be targeting this as "medical discrimination". Unfortunately for those commenters, there are no laws, federal of state, that prohibit a business from turning down customers based on their vaccination status. In fact, federal law enables businesses like restaurants to proactively keep their establishment and staff safe. With that in mind, Little Giant also received several supportive comments on their decision.