Angelo’s restaurant opens for indoor eating regardless of directions from Governor Wolf – CBS Pittsburgh

WASHINGTON (KDKA) – Phones ring, cooks prepare, and a local restaurant opens for indoor dining contrary to Governor Wolf’s instructions.

“If I thought we were doing anything that would make someone sick, we wouldn’t,” said Michael Passalacqua, the owner of Angelo’s restaurant.

The staff on Thursday prepared for a day booked with reservations. It was empty in the evening, but next Friday the owner says he will serve his customers his favorite dishes. He made the decision to rebel and posted an “explainer video” on YouTube.

(Photo credit: KDAK)

“I’m going to announce today that I’m going to do something that is completely outside of my character. I’m going to open my restaurant on Friday morning at 11 am, ”Passalacqua said in the video.

The doors open, the cooks return to the kitchen, and Passalacqua says he is ready to face the consequences.

“Mainly because we are out of ammunition, we have no other choice,” he said.

His family has owned the Washington city restaurant for 81 years. He calls Governor Wolf’s recent shutdown to slow the spread of the virus “crippling”.

“The first thing I had to do was decide which employees to lay off and which to keep working,” he said.

Fifty-three people expect him to pay a paycheck. His $ 1.4 million payroll doesn’t take place on takeaway orders.

(Photo credit: KDKA photojournalist Ian Smith)

“Losing those three weeks is something we can’t do, we can’t do it,” he said.

He said he had already invested $ 30,000 in outdoor tents and one-way meals. Breaking the rules is not his business.

“In a previous life, before I returned to my family business, I was a police officer,” he said.

But he takes reservations and will process the quotes when they come.

“We’re going to take the lumps that come and fight this in the streets, but the most important thing is to stay open during the Christmas season,” he said.

Passalacqua says he is not aware of any case of COVID attributed to his restaurant, and because of that, he does not believe restaurants make people sick. He says that his priority is to keep people healthy and if he didn’t believe this was happening, nobody would have to close it – he would lock the place himself.