This Chef Has a 'Simple Question' for Governors and Mayors Ramping up Lockdowns on America's Small Businesses

Back in early December, Red State’s own Kira Davis introduced readers to Chef Andrew Gruel, just as California’s Democrat tyrants in office, Governor Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, had re-imposed crushing, Wuhan coronavirus regulations on Golden State citizens and small businesses.

She wrote about the chef/owner of the Slapfish restaurant this way:

One California restauranteur has had enough of the constantly shifting COVID goalposts. With Newsom’s and L.A. Mayor Garcetti’s latest orders shutting down outdoor dining, Chef Andrew Gruel took to Twitter to inform the ~~wardens~~ powers-that-be that, after following every previous order to the letter, he refuses to shut down his last source of income – outdoor dining.

But Andrew didn’t stop there.

This week, he’s back with a new video, asking politicians what he calls a “simple question.” After making a self-depreciating joke about personal attacks he’s been getting for taking a stand against tyranny, he says:

“What I haven’t gotten is an answer from those people about the very question I’ve been asking our elected officials — and anybody else who wants to lump everybody into this ‘crazy’ category, when you ask a very simple question.

And my question to those people, and anybody else who wants to answer it….is: When all of our businesses get completely shut down, honestly, what are we supposed to do? Where are we supposed to get money? How are we supposed to feed our families?

Seriously, what are we supposed to do? In the absence of anything that can help us. There’s no relief package. And $1,200 checks? That’s not going to do s***.”

He continues:

“These aren’t just numbers on a spreadsheet. There are people behind these numbers, alright. And that seems to be what government has forgotten.

These are human lives!”

Warning: video contains adult language

Can any of my haters answer this simple question as to how restaurants and small businesses are to survive personally when we are shut down? pic.twitter.com/bPVwadz9cB

— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) December 17, 2020

One patron of a small business eatery in Valencia, California, I happened to “meet” on social media Friday night has a brutal answer: they can’t. Jason was telling his Twitter followers he and his friends were saying a fond farewell to their “Friday Tradition”: pizza and wine. (By the way Sheila Kuehl is a Los Angeles County supervisor.)

Jason wrote:

Looking like it’s the end for our Friday Tradition. The Armenian pizza guys will likely close soon due to the draconian and unproven sanction placed on restaurants by parasites like @SheilaKuehl

Looking like it’s the end for our Friday Tradition. The Armenian pizza guys will likely close soon due to the draconian and unproven sanction placed on restaurants by parasites like @SheilaKuehl pic.twitter.com/96TPDrKASf

— Jason (@jstan_7561) December 19, 2020

The thread continued:

This isn’t just a closing of a business. Look deeper. Typically, spaces are rented and long term leases signed. Liens can be enforced by a judge depending on signing terms that can’t be discharged in bankruptcy.

What’s most hurtful is that an independently owned restaurant closing is dreams crushed, finances ruined, and the entrepreneurial spirit vanquished-by those in governance that know no better than you or I. This is shameful.

Jason’s right. It is shameful. And here’s one thing that hypocrites like Newsom and Garcetti don’t do: put their money where their mouth is. That’s where there’s some positive news.

According to a video Chef Gruel posted Friday, they’ve “already raised $35k” for business owners “who are hurting right now.” Asking people to keep spreading the word, he writes:

Thank you to everyone who has donated to our restaurant fund dedicated to helping struggling restaurant workers. We have already raised $35k and are beginning to distribute to those in need. Please email your story to [email protected] if you’re hurting.

In the video, he explains how this has come about, saying, in part:

“What we want to do as a business is we want to step in, and we want to spend our time to help other people who are hurting right now. And we can all start to create excitement around the ‘community’ element here.

We’re not going to allow government, big business to rip us out of our communities. Instead, we’re going to come together, we’re going to rally together, and we’re going to help each other.”

Thank you to everyone who has donated to our restaurant fund dedicated to helping struggling restaurant workers. We have already raised $35k and are beginning to distribute to those in need. Please email your story to [email protected] if you’re hurting. PLEASE SHARE!! pic.twitter.com/dboTVMstuC

— Chef Andrew Gruel (@ChefGruel) December 18, 2020

Show your support, if you can, for our neighbors.

You can learn more of Andrew’s background (he majored in music performance!)… Oh, and he also makes a mean lobster roll. Watch below, via GrubTribe: