At least one restaurateur had sour grapes for the mayor’s must-vaxx rule for customers and employees.
Joe Fauci, owner of Staten Island’s popular La Fontana and La Fontana Serella — which are in the borough’s under-vaccinated Oakwood and Annadale neighborhoods — told The Post, “Things are getting a little crazy.
“I’m vaccinated myself, but I don’t see how, in this day and age, a non-FDA-approved drug is required,” Fauci said.
And yes — he’s distantly related to Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is his father’s second cousin.
“I don’t see how we’re going to police this,” Joe Fauci said. “If a guy comes in without a valid [vaccination] card, how can we police it? We can’t call the big data base.
“All we’re doing is going back to things that didn’t work,” he said — referring to last year’s shutdown and contact-tracing rules.
Fauci’s family founded La Fontana 38 years ago and it quickly became a popular spot for local Republican politicians. They expanded to La Fontana Serella in 2017.
Joe Fauci and his father, who is also named Anthony, bitterly criticized last year’s restrictions in October.