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Sunday, May 24, 2020

Pickles Owner Responds To Citation From Health Department

Brittney said...

Just to set the record straight hi I am Brittney Acita and my husband and I own and operate Pickles Pub. We want to set the record straight on the article that’s out there. We did not have anyone on our porch drinking, we did not receive a fine. We received a warning for people standing in line not social distancing on the public sidewalk. We are very aware that our local government is fighting hard for its businesses and our police force is working with everyone. For this we are so thankful and this is why we love our town. We do however find warnings and tickets for issues like this over the top. Our staff is doing their best to keep people distanced from each other but with limited income and limited staff and the public having their own opinion on everything it’s very difficult to enforce. We are all about restaurants banding together peacefully to get the ball rolling on reopening. The people and government need to hear our voices to see the struggle we are going through. It’s devastating to so many small businesses. While we are not undermining the deaths covid has caused we are stressing that restaurants need to reopen. Thank you hope to see you at the pub one day soon!




Publishers Notes: Thank You Brittney! I have been working very closely with ALL of our elected officials who truly feel our pain and are doing everything they can to help get us reopened. HOWEVER, the brick wall each and every one of them are facing is that Governor Hogan has absolutely refused to respond to any of them. 

I firmly agree with your above message. First of all, the warning you received is way over the top. It is my understanding tat someone drove by your place, saw too many people, (in her opinion) and called it in. MY BIG concern is that when and if we are allowed to open and a group of customers refuse to social distance, WE BUSINESS OWNERS will get fined, not the individuals. And even IF they fined individuals, how's that going to hurt businesses! People won't come back. Frankly, it's NOT worth the risk of reopening. 

Then there's the question, will we be told 30%, 50% capacity? Is it even worth opening at those numbers? Will we have to raise our prices 50% to 70% to break even for what's left of the summer season? OK, so get this. This morning I priced out ground beef and this is the honest to God truth. While supplies are limited my distributor told me I'd be paying almost $5.00 A POUND! That's wholesale! 

Our government is making it truly impossible to make it. Gas has gone up 20 cents a gallon in the past few days, yet oil is at an all time low for this generation. I could sell sand from the beach easier then I could reopen my restaurant/bar. With the gestapo sneaking around with citations in hand and fining us $5,000.00, I'd rather remain closed and I'm so sorry you had to experience what you did.  Hopefully the press you received helped put your business on the map and I truly believe when you do open you'll be at full capacity. 

UPDATE from Justin: It was a warning and it wasn't for people on the porch it was for people on the sidewalk.

47 comments:

Anonymous said...

As I said before you cannot control what the folks on the sidewalk are doing, that is a job for the POLICE! Stop harassing businesses!

Anonymous said...

It wasn't a citation, it was a warning notice. Citations come after warnings.

Anonymous said...

Joe, you and every other business will need to raise the cost of your product and service just to survive or, your business will become unsustainable and you will close. I can’t tell you how many times I have found myself in a no win argument with a person who simply is incapable of understanding the economic realities of owning and operating a business. What expenses are included in the cost of a simple hamburger beyond the bun, meat, ketchup and mustard. Add to that the cost of a hamburger rent or mortgage of the building, utilities, salaries, insurance, balances for later equipment and building upgrades, taxes, attorney and legal. All having to be added in the cost which makes a single hamburger cost over $9 at most restaurants. An now we are faced with opening at only 30-50% of our occupancy? That is economy unsustainable. Why most people are unable to comprehend this is just mind boggling to me.

JoeAlbero said...

11:57, I couldn't agree more. Here I opened a local business with extremely reasonably priced food, unlike so many other OC tourist businesses and they come back and raise prices through the roof. Look at crabs right now, $450.00 a bushel! Yet crabs are so abundant. "It's Time" everyone come together and fight this mess.

Anonymous said...

Restaurants cannot police what people are doing outside the front door. Worcester county health Department is a disgrace. I think we need to take a look at who is at the health department and how their time is spent. Maybe personal lawsuits need to happen against these individuals who are giving out citations.

Anonymous said...

You should do Impossible Burger at that price

Anonymous said...

The people who are responsible for the behavior of visitors on public property are the Union based PD with the fat paychecks. Would the Town rulers call Pickles if there was a disturbance on Talbot street?

Anonymous said...

LOSERS!!!!!!...YOU AS A BUSINESS OWNER ARE COMPLETELY RESPONSIBLE FOR PATRONS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE YOUR ESTABLISHMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!If you cant control them...you shouldnt be open, thats why large venues are not allowed to open....shorebillys and their me me my business!...adapt, play by the rules, or file that chapter 11 or 13 and move on!! !everything will be closed again in August....

Anonymous said...

The longer bars are closed the more people get used to it and change their behavior - I am.

It already costs a lot more to drink at a bar than retail so higher prices just won't cut it.

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that adults SHOULD be responsible for their own behavior. This is ridiculous!

Anonymous said...

WE ARE LIVING IN BAD TIMES. NAZI attitudes abound. People ratting on each other out of Unwarranted Fear...and this must stop...When Maryland starts 'tracing' we'll be in a real mess. NOT enough of you are speaking up and many of you came to the party too late; you were fooled...
We have the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence on our side, so use it. We are NOT in a Pandemic contrary to what the DEMS/MSM/Deep State/RINO's are promoting. Most of the lives lost during this time were compromised to start with, aged, in nursing homes...This is the same with 'seasonal flu'...NO Different.
IF you were fooled; ask yourself why??? Did you listen to the wrong voices? Did you let your emotions overrule your common sense and critical thinking skills. Look folks; it's time to open Maryland/America and stop the Fear Porn. We MUST get back to living, business, worshiping and having fun.

Anonymous said...

12:29, go pack sand!! How the hell do you control people out on a sidewalk. If the police don't like what they see, take the people on the sidewalk to jail or fine them but giving the business owner a warning is a real s t r e t c h.

Anonymous said...

Oh STFU you morons, if the govt and cops were working with and for the people, we would all be at work right now, everything open and cops not being the pieces of shit they are giving fines to people who can't afford it especially since the orders are illegal... And ONLY PEOPLE WHO SAY CRAP LIKE YOU DID BRITTNEY, ARE SALVES!!!!!

12:02 YES THE HELL THEY CAN, if the city, town, county or state can fine you and make you sweep and clean and remove snow and debris from that sidewalk in front of your store, THEN YES YOU CAN MAKE PEOPLE MOVE from your area!!

Joe: NO ONE IS GOING TO COME TOGETHER TO FIGHT THIS, they haven't yet and this crap has been going on a long time, not just more so now with some fake pandemic... People don't want their rights, people want to be told what to do, how to do it and when to do it... You all rather turn on each other calling cops on each other, demonizing each other than to stand together and fight this, and even if you got a few to stand, it's not enough to affect change, real change... You need the whole state to band together or no need even trying...

But hey maybe they will start to care when the lines that you have to already stand in outside to get in to a store, gets long enough, maybe then you will care, but I know not, becasue we are near a god damn civil war here and no one still seems to care, so clearly there is nothing most of you morons won't tolerate and if you don't tolerate something, you won't do jack to stop it or fix it you will just get on a blog and run your mouth...

Anonymous said...

You’re an idiot that needs a smack in the mouth

Anonymous said...

12:29, you lost your mind !!!! Are the business owners responsible for people pissing on the sidewalks too???? Have you seen the location of Pickles??? The are right on a sidewalk along with other businesses in the same strip. 1:06 is right, the INDIVIDUALS are responsible for themselves, they are ADULTS!

Maybe YOU are the type to blame everything on others and not take responsibility for yourself !!!!

Anonymous said...

A business has no legal authority to tell people who are on a public sidewalk what they are allowed or not allowed to do,that is a job for the police.

Anonymous said...

12:29. You have loser mentality. I bet you’ve never worked a hard day in your life.

Anonymous said...

12:29 has been on unemployment way too long. That's the dumbest comment on here in a long time.

Anonymous said...

Don't pay the fine. If enough of you do it they will understand.

Anonymous said...

Pipe down cupcake.

Anonymous said...

As mentioned about, people's behaviors have changed over the last 3-4 months and is resulting in an economic mess for all. Raising prices short term to make back what's been lost is a continued past and present learned behavior which will not work today. We keep talking about restaurants, gas, food, supply lines...

Here's a question, WTH are the hotels charging? Again trying to make up for lost revenue Mar Apr most of May does not work. That's the chasing the unicorn scenario.

Without a national plan, then taken over by the state and local level, the unbalance and unfairness will continue. Then those powers that be will say Whaaaaa happened.

Keep on keepin on Joe and do hope soon to visit you for some suds.

Anonymous said...

@1:06 yeah that will never happen and that is the reason we have LAWS!!!!! Adults were pissing in the sand and god only knows where else in public, and you say the should be responsible lmao!!!!!!!!!! WAKE UP!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Dont forget starting july 1st no more styrofoam carry out containers...

Anonymous said...

Shows you that Adolph Hogan and his General Meehan are ruling the Third Reich, aka Maryland, with a strong overbearing fist.

The Third Reich are allowing their "elite" to operate any way they want. Just look at the Boardwalk and Thrashers starting with them then add their other "elite" group.

They are no more important than any other business, since they are in the "elite" group then they do what they want and their patrons can hug each other and nothing done.

Hogan, aka Hitler, and General Meehan pushing SOCIALISM by forcing businesses to close teir doors permanently.

eddie said...

tourism. I thought price gouging was against the law .With sit down crab houses closed these establishments that sell to go crabs are raping the general public. I'm afraid to see how much crabs will be this weekend.

Anonymous said...

We used to be free

Anonymous said...

The gas prices are absolutely price gouging. No reason for the big jump other than greed. Salisbury Exxons were the first and always are. Hello WAWA. Money Mongers.

Anonymous said...

So am I and my wife. Yesterday I paid $17 for a steak at Food Lion large enough for my wife and I. I thought to myself “$17 FOR A STEAK!” Then I remembered the last time we both ate a steak at a Texas Road House. The meal, 2 drinks each and tip and the bill Was over $70. Not again. My wife and I are having more fun searching recipes on line and cooking together at home.

Anonymous said...

BHAA HAA HAA HAA, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence??? Not worth the paper their written on. Democrats and the young socialists will guarantee that.

Anonymous said...

BHAA HAA HAA HAA what Civil War? Oh please stop it with the coming Civil War stuff. You’re too funny. And boring.

Anonymous said...

Those are Cato gas stations

Anonymous said...

and maybe if some of you business owners didnt have two locations, three kids, 4 cars, two mortgages...leveraged out!!...you could survive...the fittest?...nah..smartest...thats life..ALL YOUR DECISIONS!!!

High Desert Dawg said...

Oh isn't this cute? "Anonymous's" having a spat! Im putting my money on 1:44!...Get em!...2:34...You're going DOWN!

Anonymous said...

I've posted this on here before, but here it is again.
IT IS A HOAX/PLANDEMIC/SCAMDEMIC. It's all about that biometric ID. Covid... Certificate Of Vaccination ID, won't be able to buy, sell, or participate in society w/o it. What's that sound like? Ever read Revelations, Acts, Thessalonians, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John? Not to mention agenda 21/30, elimination of urban sprawl, end of privately owned property, mass surveillance, TOTAL CONTROL. Look at what is happening to the food supply chain. "Control the food & you control the population.” The entire beast system is being ushered in & ppl runnin around with designer panties on their faces bc they believe the lies they've been told by MSM & corrupt, lying officials. ALL the info is out there for those with eyes to see & ears to hear. Look at the criteria for being labelled a covid death. Compare the deceptively aggrandized numbers w/the flu for any given year. See the empty hospitals. Hear the MD's with integrity who are speaking the truth about this. Watch all the predictive programing that has been out for YEARS (even decades). Read their plans. Search Rockefeller Foundation's Scenarios for the Future of Technology & International Development, composed in 2010! Watch event 201 held by the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation in Oct 2019! This was planned folks. The whole cooked up in a lab story is just that, a cooked up story intended to induce fear. They're mocking us. Wake up people before all is lost.

Anonymous said...

Hell yeah! I'm glad there's someone awake out there

Anonymous said...

No, that should NOT be the job of a cop! Police officers should NOT enforce TYRANNICAL edicts! We are in Germany 1942 right now, quickly approaching 1943, WAKE UP PEOPLE!

Anonymous said...

The rules STINK and you know it - twit!

RightOh said...

Have a couple of Beers Or Bourbon 7:50 and Just Chill !! Or Continue To Live In Your Paranoid World !!

Anonymous said...

12:28 OCPD officers are not Unionized. You talk like someone with a paper ass and have no clue what you're talking about.

Anonymous said...

"INSIDE AND OUTSIDE YOUR ESTABLISHMENT" how far outside 12:29? That shore is broad statement their Einstein

Anonymous said...

Just get on a blog and run your mouth, just like you 144. I want to be like you when I grow up. Lololololo !!!!

Anonymous said...

Nice to hear you’re having fun. Sweet. We need more of that.

Anonymous said...

8:44...shore or "sure"...dust off that Snow Hill High school grammar and check back in, ohhh Trumps Shorebillys....hysterical the ineptitude(lack of skill or ability) of "Yalllll"!!!...bahahahahaha

Jeffrey said...

First of all the city owns the sidewalk not the businesses.. that would be the same holding a business responsible for any crime or violation on the "city" owned sidewalk..this is not "science" in fighting a Pandemic..its harassment and holding others accountable for political blunders..

Anonymous said...

Is “High desert dog “name supposed to sound tough ? I bet you can’t get your fat ass off the couch

Anonymous said...

Hell, they could write social distancing Tickets ALL day in Ocean City !!!

This business was singled Out & this is Discrimination > throw it Out !!!

Anonymous said...

semantics....if someone was one foot off your property, taking a dump!!..you would squirt him with a hose!!!!!...real problem is...ready....All you "local business owners"...ARE NOT...bank owns your ass..plus the ALCOHOL is the cause of 98% of every police officer response call....i say...BYE! file 7...13!!!!!