A co-owner of Arnaldo Richards’ Picos Restaurant told CNN that while most customers were supportive, some social media messages were ‘hurtful’ to him and his family.
One of the posts on social media, which was provided to CNN and has since been removed, had a person threatening to call immigration to see the green cards of restaurant staff. Another message simply said, “You all deserve ICE,” referring to U.S. immigration and customs enforcement.
“This gentleman just said that I should not act against the governor of Texas and that we should respect his mandate to lift the ban. If not, he can send immigration to look at our green cards,” he said. Arnaldo Richards said Monday. “And I thought it was extremely racist. I thought it was inappropriate. And if it was not a Mexican restaurant, he might not have said anything or referred to our green cards.”
A green card is a type of visa that means someone is a legal permanent resident of the USA. Richards emigrated from Mexico to the United States and became a naturalized citizen in the 1980s – all of his children were born in the United States, he said.
His restaurant celebrated its 37th anniversary on Monday and he said he only wants to protect his family, workers and customers who come to the restaurant.
“As a business, we have the choice to enforce the use of the mask,” Richards said. “So my choice for my restaurant and my staff and personally for me and my family is to wear the mask.”
Richards pointed out that it only takes 20 to 25 seconds to walk from the door to a table with a mask on before it is removed to your table. He said the majority of his customers wear a mask, asking no questions.
“People can be kind to other people and only wear it because some people are very determined,” he said. “I would say 99% of my clients are determined to use the mask.”
Regarding the threats to call them, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not comment on whether he had received reports about the restaurant.
“Any attempt to abuse federal law enforcement to retaliate against an individual or business in retaliation for their COVID-19 security protocols is not only irresponsible, but also a gross misuse of taxpayers’ funding,” ICE officials said in a statement. a statement told CNN.
“If you go to that restaurant now, especially for these employees, you have to follow the guidelines they published. It’s just the right thing to do,” she said.
Asked about the incident at Picos in Houston, Knight said the incident was “extremely unfortunate”. She praised customers on social media for supporting the restaurant and its decision.
“It’s just unthinkable that you would set up a restaurant to keep their employees safe,” Knight said. “This is just the day we live right? This mask debate has become very political and that’s why we really insist that restaurants put these guidelines outside so that guests at least know where you stand.”
The association surveyed its members and 700 restaurants responded that they wanted to keep employees in masks, especially until they were vaccinated, Knight said.
The businesses in Houston that require customers to wear masks have received support from Police Chief Art Acevedo.
Richards said Wednesday he was going to put up a chair in front of his restaurant to stop someone not wearing a mask. He said he was also concerned about people trying to infect his staff because of the mask policy.
“It’s very simple,” Richards said. “You can go anywhere else. If you find a restaurant that would accept you without a mask, I want to know.”