San Francisco In-N-Out Closed Down For Refusing To Impose COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

A fast-food restaurant in San Francisco, California, was temporarily closed by the city government last week after the establishment refused to strictly enforce local vaccination requirements.

The In-N-Out Burger location along Jefferson Street was shut down by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) Thursday because employees were not properly checking for customers' COVID-19 vaccine documentation, The New York Times reported.

San Francisco required all indoor dine-in customers to show proof of full vaccination back in August, according to the newspaper.

The health department reportedly asked the In-N-Out location to correct the violations on Sept. 24 after the city received a complaint. Inspectors from the SFDPH later followed up with the branch on Oct. 6 and discovered that the staff was still not asking indoor dine-in patrons for proof of vaccination.

Inspectors reportedly attempted multiple times to bring the business into compliance, but the restaurant refused to comply and was given a notice of closure.

"The business was instructed to cease all operations on site immediately because of the threat it poses to public health," the SFDPH said in a statement.

In-N-Out acknowledged the enforcement violation, but it called San Francisco's indoor vaccination requirement a "clear governmental overreach" that was "intrusive, improper and offensive," the Los Angeles Times quoted the Califonia-based company's chief legal and business officer Arnie Wensinger as saying.

"As a company, In-N-Out Burger strongly believes in the highest form of customer service and to us that means serving all customers who visit us and making all customers feel welcome. We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government," Wensinger said.

The In-N-Out branch that received the closure notice "properly and clearly" posted signs of local vaccination requirements, he noted.

The SFDPH, for its part, stands by its enforcement actions.

"Vaccines remain our best tool to fight this disease and come out of the pandemic. Vaccination is particularly important in a public indoor setting where groups of people are gathering and removing their masks, factors that make it easier for the virus to spread. That is why San Francisco requires proof of vaccination for indoor dining," the public health department said.

In-N-Out's Jefferson Street branch remains the only restaurant in the city to have been closed over the vaccine mandate, the health department said. The store has since reopened for outdoor dining and take-out after it took "steps to comply," according to the SFDPH.