San Francisco In-N-Out temporarily shuts down for violating vaccine mandate

An In-N-Out located in San Francisco was temporarily shut down because it wouldn’t comply with the city’s mandate to check people’s coronavirus vaccine status. 

The San Francisco Department of Public Health shut down an In-N-Out on Oct. 14 for violating a health order that requires restaurants to check the vaccination status of customers who want to eat indoors. 

“We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government. It is unreasonable, invasive, and unsafe to force our restaurant Associates to segregate Customers into those who may be served and those who may not, whether based on the documentation they carry, or any other reason,” In-N-Out Chief Legal and Business Officer Arnie Wensinger said in a statement. 

“We fiercely disagree with any government dictate that forces a private company to discriminate against customers who choose to patronize their business. This is clear governmental overreach and is intrusive, improper, and offensive,” Wensinger added. 

The story was first reported by KRON-TV.

Wensinger said the restaurant did post the signs that were required by the city, but the city says they also needed to check the vaccine status of a person and not just post the signs. 

The health department says the In-N-Out location got multiple warnings before they were ultimately forced to shut down. 

The business has since reopened in compliance with the city’s health order by just offering takeout and outdoor dining.

The San Francisco Bay Area is starting to lift some of its indoor mask mandates due to the drop in coronavirus cases, but the vaccine mandate remains in place. 

The city has some of the strictest vaccine mandates in the country, with few places in the U.S. requiring restaurants to check a person’s vaccination status. 

San Francisco has 83 percent of its residents who are eligible for the vaccine fully vaccinated.