Kay Curry
Northwest Asia Weekly
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 vaccine/anti-vaccine war, some Asian American-owned restaurants have also joined the competition. Along with about 100 other different King County restaurants, Watson’s Counter and Musang decided to require proof of vaccination before eating.
“A lot of the decisions we make are for the safety of our team,” said Melissa Miranda of North Lighthouse Lynx Mountain. Miranda opened Cat Hill three months before the COVID-19 outbreak to pay tribute to her traditional Filipino cuisine. It started as a pop-up catering service for events, and later became a full-service restaurant, operating as a community kitchen throughout the pandemic. As part of a hard-hit career, Miranda is worried about her employees.
Melissa Miranda of Maoshan (provided by Maoshan Restaurant)
“Many of the breakthrough cases that have occurred are other restaurant employees.” Musang also allows for the provision of a recent negative COVID-19 test certificate for meals.
James Lim, owner of Ballard’s Watson’s Counter, got involved in the restaurant industry because of coffee and a science degree. He described Watson’s as “a specialty cafe… with great food plans, but… also a great brunch spot with the best coffee plans.” They are famous for their French cereal toast, and their The dishes are inspired by the days when Lim ate American and Korean food. Since last year, Lin has taken a tough stance on the pandemic.
“We are not in a hurry to open [for dine in],” he said. “Fifteen months in pandemic mode, do our best to protect each other’s safety, and then we are going to throw all this out the window? “
The restaurant’s response to the decision to request a vaccination certificate was swift and violent. Trolls used Google and Yelp to post negative reviews to all restaurants they could find; and swarmed social media to harass the accounts of these restaurants and their owners. These disgruntled citizens claimed that they ranged from “these restaurants are anti-patriotic” to “they are discriminatory.”
“The severe ones are those who come in and claim racism,” Lin said. “This must be some Fox News… the talking point, because they all said almost exactly the same thing verbatim, ‘70% of blacks are not vaccinated. Why do you hate blacks?’ – and so on.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 62% of all adults in the United States have been fully vaccinated. Among those whose race and ethnicity can be determined, black/non-Hispanic accounted for 9.2%, and approximately 24% of the total black/non-Hispanic population. Although some people discuss that this low number indicates racism in our system, this is a red herring in the dining drama, because the decision to require proof of vaccination is not a racist decision for Maoshan or Watsons. The owners say this is offensive because they have been on the side of people of color throughout the pandemic and their lives. They have formed an alliance with Black Lives Matter and invested their money through fundraising, demonstrations and inquiries. Others in their faith do the same.
After the murder of George Floyd, in June 2020, as part of the larger Asians4BlackLives movement, Watson’s raised funds for Black Lives Matter by selling T-shirts. On June 12, 2020, they closed to commemorate the March of Silence. In January of this year, Watsons said when welcoming the New Year: “2021 will be different, but it will also be roughly the same. Black lives are still important, and COVID-19 is still real… We will do what we do for you Bring some delicious new food, but you continue to do what you do, to be a beautiful, compassionate and caring person.”
Lin knew from his own connections that some people — who claimed that the evidence of the vaccination policy was racism against blacks — were white. For him, their misappropriation of this important cause did not blow it up and make it more important as the attackers hoped it would—it despised it. “These people who pretend to be black… are so disrespectful of the plight that minorities have to go through… This is the person who hit me the hardest, because [they] I don’t understand how difficult it is to become black, you and I don’t understand how difficult it is to become black. We know that it is not as easy as being white, and there is a lot of baggage to use it just to express your opinion and use it appropriately, anyway this is a wrong point of view. It’s disgusting. “
Spice Waala co-founders Uttam Mukherjee and Aakanksha Sinha (provided by Spice Waala restaurant)
Difficult decisions such as whether or not a vaccination certificate is required are the impact of the pandemic on businesses. They are serious decisions that affect the bottom line. Some people, such as Spice Waala, an Indian street food restaurant in Seattle, have decided not to require a vaccination certificate. Co-founder Aakanksha Sinha said: “We recognize the impact of the pandemic on public health and are taking all measures to ensure the safety of our employees and customers… Due to medical reasons and access issues, not everyone can be vaccinated. .”
Sinha and her employees are determined to comply with CDC and local guidelines. Others are reluctant to take the hard line because they need customers; or if it is an Asian restaurant, they may worry about being racially discriminated against if they make a controversial decision. Lim believes that safety is the most important.
“If we are lax on the COVID agreement and we find that someone is sick and dying, then the potential additional income we can earn from it is not worth it.”
For Lin, following his moral compass is a top priority. He admits that his willingness to contact people who disagree may have something to do with Watson’s constant criticism, but he will only go so far before he interrupts the conversation.
“We don’t want to upset anyone… We want to enjoy food, good coffee and good time here. If you don’t like our personality, that’s okay… We want people to be happy, safe, and have fun.”
Miranda said: “We know this is a moment of division, and there are some people in the community who have not yet decided to vaccinate.” “In order to take care of our team, family and restaurant family, we have to do it on the fly all year. These decisions…many people can’t see behind the scenes or understand how it’s hard for people. This is by no means to divide us. It’s just based on the fact that we…feel right.”
Feedback is not all negative. Many customers are excited about this policy.
“A lot of people came in and said,’Thank you for doing this’,’We thank you for requesting a vaccination certificate’,’We feel uncomfortable in most places,'” Lin told The Weekly. “Some of them said,’I have waited so long and finally someone asked for my vaccination certificate. I have been carrying this everywhere and no one wants it!'”
Kai can be info@nwasianweekly.com.
