Pa. diner opens in defiance of state lockdown order: It's time to stand up and flatten the fear
Round the Clock Diner owners Dimos Sacarellos and Christos Sacarellos join 'Fox & Friends' after opening their dining room to customers in York, Pennsylvania.
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The owners of a Pennsylvania diner that reopened in defiance of state coronavirus shutdown orders are calling on other businesses to take a stand and "flatten the fear."
In an appearance Friday on "Fox & Friends" with host Brian Kilmeade, Round the Clock Diner owners Dimos and Christos Sacarellos, who are father and son, explained that they had the support of their community and a state representative.
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The elder Sacarellos said they made the decision to reopen following requests from customers who would take out food and eat in their parking lot.
"And they were telling us, ‘Please open up. Please open up,'" he recalled. "We have over 100 people — 160 people working in here. These people try to support their families. And, we decided to open up on Mother's Day. People were overwhelming and everyone walked in the door saying, ‘Thank you for opening. Thank you. Thank you.’"
"And then, they sit down like regular people — like we used to do it," he added. "And, we are not little kids. We are not in a communist country."
"We have a beautiful, beautiful community," the younger Sacarellos pointed out. "Our District Attorney Dave Sunday has been saying he is not going to prosecute. We have got our local township – Manchester Township – who has given us the green light, literally. Their solution is right, to just to go forward."
The partners told Kilmeade that their "beautiful community" had put in the work and done their part by flattening the curve of coronavirus in York County.
"Well look, we’ve flattened the curve. We sat down. You know, now it's time to stand up [and] flatten the fear," Christos asserted. "I mean, we’ve have done everything…by CDC guidelines. We are doing everything correctly."
Customers are flooding back to the Round The Clock Diner.
"We have got people traveling [from] hours away to come in and sit down and eat. I mean, we have done everything. We have done everything to accommodate the customers. You know, we are not out here doing something rogue," Christos stated. "You know, the density [and] the spacing six [feet apart]. All of our employees wear face masks. We temperature...screen our employees before their shifts."
"You are responsible?" asked Kilmeade.
"Yeah, very responsible," he replied. "My father has been in [this] business for 52 years. I'm sure he knows something about food safety and how to take care of people."
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"Well, when [is it] going to get normal? When it's going to open up?" Dimos demanded. "I have been asking...the last time I said: 'Please, open up. People, they are tired. They wanted to go to work. They want to pay their bills [and] support their families.'"
"If there is anything wrong that people want to work, I don't know what to say," he concluded.
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