Gaithersburg Restaurant Owner Says Workers Won't Wear Masks

GAITHERSBURG, MD — The owner of a Gaithersburg restaurant has come under fire for flouting Maryland's mask mandate and telling customers who disagree with him to dine elsewhere.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, The Grille at Flower Hill wrote it was visited by Montgomery County health inspectors in response to a complaint that employees were not wearing face masks.

"Let me be very clear...my staff will not wear face masks while working here at the Grille. If that bothers you then please dine elsewhere and please try to find something more important to occupy your time such as volunteer at a nursing home or soup kitchen," the post read. "Whoever you are that filed the complaint, you need to take a good look in the mirror and try to find some real meaning in your life."

Montgomery County confirmed that The Grille received a complaint on June 29 — and that a health inspector visited the restaurant on July 2.

Officials said the restaurant — which is open Thursdays through Sundays — received another complaint after a health inspector gave the owner a verbal warning about facial coverings.

"After receiving a verbal reminder about mask requirements, the county again received complaints over the weekend," the county wrote in a statement. "As the restaurant does not reopen until Thursday, a visit by an inspector will not take place until then."

The Grille published another Facebook post on Sunday, saying it would be closed that evening.

The post also read: "Please direct any and all complaints regarding out limited hours of service to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and Gov Larry Hogan."

The post quickly garnered hundreds of shares and comments from angry customers, with some saying they will no longer patronize the restaurant.

"Ugh, as a local to your restaurant, I can say with 100% certainty that I will never be back. I hope you close permanently and something better comes in," one Facebook user commented.

In a statement, County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles said restaurants that knowingly disregard health inspectors' warnings will be shut down.

"If we find that a business has been educated and continues to willfully ignore the requirements to safely reopen," he said, "we will use our legal authority to prohibit their operations until they comply."