Thanks to the collective efforts of city and state Democratic “leaders” like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the coronavirus-inspired mandates in L.A. County are the most restrictive in the state and among the strictest nationwide.

Business owners in the area have cried foul, with some being so outraged and fed up that they’ve taken matters into their own hands. One such person is Alex Jordan, who runs the “Eat at Joe’s” diner at East Redondo Bay. Jordan told news station KTLA that he is defying Newsom and the county because of loyalty to his employees, and because he’s sick of the double standards on display:

“We’re still open because I have very loyal employees who have been with me for many, many years, and putting them out of work without any government aid or stimulus or help four weeks before Christmas time is just not OK in any way shape or form with me,” he said. “The fact that they are letting other businesses be open 20%, or 25%, and penalizing us doesn’t seem fair.”

[…]

“COVID is a terrible thing. There is no argument there,” he said. “But I’m not sure that picking on restaurants to such a degree is the answer. It hasn’t been proven through any medical numbers that eating outside is causing this. So why do they have to close us down? We are following all the rules to a T, and still they want to close us down.”

Another way Jordan is striking back at Newsom is with the clever banner he has on display at the front of his restaurant. It reads “The French Laundry – patio dining”, a ding at Newsom after the governor got ripped for not practicing what he preaches on gathering limits, after reports and photos of him, his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and a group of friends at the trendy French Laundry restaurant in Napa County a few weeks ago went viral:

This Redondo Beach restaurant has a not so subtle message for CA. Owner Alex says he’s defying LA County orders to close outdoor dining because it’s not about him, it’s about all the workers that rely on him for livelihoods, and he can’t leave them stranded right before Christmas pic.twitter.com/rRlUGlKbkR

— Christina Pascucci (@ChristinaKTLA) November 29, 2020

Jordan also told KTLA that he thinks “it’s important for us to send a message that we can’t just let other people tell us what to do all the time when it’s wrong.”

From the looks of things, it sounds like a growing number of business owners agree with him.

(Hat tip: Twitchy)

Related: Entertainment Industry now Deemed “Essential” and Exempt from Gavin Newsom’s Curfew