Patrons decry possibility of new shutdown order
BUTLER TWP — Gov. Tom Wolf was silent again Thursday on the potential closing of bars and restaurants in the county, but a handful of local patrons said they'd oppose the move.
Many expected Wolf to announce a two-week closure of bars and restaurants in the county Wednesday due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
When the announcement did not materialize, many wondered if it would come Thursday.
Again, no announcement on a temporary closure.
“It'll kill us,” Mark Denny, owner of Burger Hut since 1979, said of another shutdown. “Last time, we threw $12,000 of products away between the two stores.”
Because all the food sold at the Burger Hut on North Main Street and Burger Hut 2 in Point Plaza is fresh and never frozen, another shutdown would be devastating for his two restaurants.
Denny said a shutdown is easier for a fast-food or other restaurant that relies on frozen stock because their food could be preserved during a two-week closure.
He said the Butler County restaurant was opened by the Steriopulos family in 1945.
“That would just destroy us because in two weeks, all my food would be spoiled,” Denny said.
Those enjoying lunch or a cocktail in local establishments said they would be against a temporary closure of bars and restaurants.Lelah Geibel, of Connoquenessing Township, enjoyed lunch with her family Thursday at Burger Hut 2.She said if restaurants are following social distancing and other safety guidelines, it should be up to customers to decide whether they want to take the risk of going to a restaurant or bar.Geibel feels for wait staff and other employees who await an announcement by Wolf.“They don't know each day if they are going to have a paycheck or be able to go to work,” Geibel said.Carl Saviano, of Butler Township, also indulged in some comfort food Thursday at Burger Hut 2.He said he is tired of businesses being adversely affected by COVID-19 restrictions.“People have built their businesses from the ground up, and this is how they get repaid?” Saviano said.He said he and his wife enjoy date nights to get away, have a conversation and enjoy a meal.Others, he said, meet at restaurants for business reasons or to enjoy the company of a friend.“It's very important for those relationships,” Saviano said.Rod Cosner of Butler Township pulled no punches when discussing the closures that have accompanied the coronavirus pandemic.“It's about compliance,” Cosner said. “It's about control and how far they can push people and what freedoms they can take from us.”He said he does not know anyone who contracted COVID-19, and although he knows people have gotten it and some have not survived, he called the hysteria surrounding the virus “a hoax.”“It's political,” Cosner said.Albert DeFoggi, of Butler Township, enjoyed a cocktail at W. Rick's Taproom on Thursday afternoon.He was quick to share his thoughts on another potential shutdown of bars and restaurants by Wolf.“I don't like it,” DeFoggi said. “He shouldn't have that much control over us.”He said restrictions that attempt to prevent residents from contracting COVID-19 are an overkill response to the virus.“I don't believe in trying to predict how you're going to die,” DeFoggi said. “I could walk out of here and get hit by a train.”
