Dec 18, 2020 6 min read

Restaurants are revolting against Gov. Tom Wolf’s order temporarily suspending indoor dining.

While many places in the region initially agreed to stop in-person dining in compliance with Wolf’s order last week halting indoor service until Jan. 4, countless local eateries announced Wednesday and Thursday they planned to fully reopen for the weekend.

Most posted Facebook messages to customers saying they could no longer weather the economic impact of offering only takeout meals, so they planned to reopen and adhere to previous COVID-19 guidelines from the state, including requiring servers and customers to wear masks.

Some of them shared or cited a video posted by Michael Passalacqua, owner of Angelo’s Restaurant near Washington, in which he questioned the ability of diners to contract COVID-19 while eating inside the restaurant.

“I can’t sit on my hands anymore. I have to risk whatever needs to be risked,” he said in the YouTube video posted on his Facebook page announcing Angelo’s was reopening Friday. “I have to get in line with the people who are defying this, because we aren’t making people sick.”

In the video, Passalacqua set up two tables about six feet apart and questioned how masked employees walking between them have not gotten sick, but studies Wolf has cited showed unmasked patrons eating at separate tables could contract COVID-19.

“We are not responsible for COVID,” he said. “If we were responsible for COVID, all of our employees would be sick, home, in bed. We wouldn’t be able to open because we wouldn’t have any employees. I believe this is a deflection.”

But James Dudt, a mechanical engineer who specializes in HVAC systems for Karpinski Engineering in Southpointe, said it’s the recirculated air and not direct aerosol droplets from customers that can spread the coronavirus.

Dudt said those air-conditioning units typically regulate temperatures by blowing the same interior air rather than circulating new air into the building. That’s why an infected customer sitting at one table could spread the virus to others sitting elsewhere in the restaurant, he said.

“Air does move across a space and it’s very dependent on the HVAC system that is there,” Dudt said. “It doesn’t even matter if it’s COVID-19. That (air is) getting mixed and remixed and blown over the people sitting underneath that airflow pattern. The reason the server or bus boy or manager isn’t (getting infected) is because of the longevity and time they spend in that air.”

He cited a Chinese study dating back to February that showed how the airflow from one table with an infected diner was distributed through the HVAC system to others in the restaurant.

Dudt said many restaurant HVAC systems are not able to use higher-quality air filters that are standard in hospitals, meaning some airborne particulates are still able to get through. He said his engineering firm has been working with various building landlords and tenants to improve their air quality for even after the pandemic ends.

“In general, there is a lot of attention being paid to indoor air quality. But I think we need to pay attention to the actual science of airflow movement and spaces to (improve) that indoor air quality,” Dudt said. “We’re seeing this already. There’s a huge emphasis on people understanding how the virus is spreading.”

With countless restaurants and bars announcing plans to reopen, it was unclear how the state Department of Agriculture, which regulates restaurants, and the Pennsylvania State Police’s Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement would handle the volume of violations.

Shannon Powers, spokeswoman for the Department of Agriculture, said the “vast majority of Pennsylvania businesses” were complying with the governor’s rules. There were 150 restaurants reported to the department Monday, and 24 follow-up visits were conducted Wednesday with 15 being issued closure notices, she said.

“If it’s confirmed that a restaurant has continued to operate after being closed by order, the department would forward the information to the Department of Health for further actions,” Powers said.

Last Friday, a Facebook group called “Eat Free PA” listed more than 200 places that planned to remain open throughout the three-week pause, although only a handful were in this area. But by Wednesday, that number had clearly increased with numerous local restaurants announcing they were open for business.

Ozzy’s in Clarksville, The Riv in Fredricktown and Kopper Kettle in South Strabane all announced they would reopen Friday, while Last Call and The Bar Association in Canonsburg and Frankie I’s in North Strabane reopened earlier in the week. Other places, such as Al’s Café in Bethel Park, Rough Cut Tavern near Hickory and Krency’s Diner in Washington never closed. In Uniontown, Caporella’s Italian Ristorante, DiMarco’s Bistro & Cantina and Titlow Tavern and Grille were among those that announced they were serving in-person dining.

A “Rights for Restaurants Rally” will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at Al’s Cafe to push Wolf to lift the restrictions.

State Health Sec. Rachel Levine, when asked Thursday about restaurants in Southwestern Pennsylvania defying the indoor dining ban, said those businesses are putting their communities and state at risk of contracting COVID-19. She said there has been “robust evidence” over the past six months about restaurants being significant sources of spreading the virus, that articles have been published on that topic by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and others.

“They are hurting themselves, their staffs and patrons,” Levine said.

Meanwhile, Passalacqua and other restaurant owners complained they’ve been blamed for the surge in COVID-19 cases while photographs are circulating on the internet showing customers packed closely together while shopping in big box stores.

“We have been singled out to a fashion that is just unbelievable,” Passalacqua said.

Staff writer Scott Beveridge contributed to this report.