Corduroy Restaurant shut down in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood after disobeying COVID-19 rules

The owner, Rebecca Matthews, opposes the B.C. Vaccine Card program

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      Vancouver Coastal Health has ordered the closure of a Kitsilano restaurant that has repeatedly refused to ask patrons to produce a B.C. Vaccine Card to gain entry onto the premises.

      In addition, the City of Vancouver has suspended the business licence of Corduroy Restaurant on Cornwall Street until December 31.

      In an Instagram post, owner Rebecca Matthews said that she wasn't allowed to ask questions when police and health officials showed up at her establishment.

      "I have four kids to feed and a family to provide for so we are closing today to strategize about how best to move forward without jail time, but still employ our staff, keep a roof over their heads and allow a safe space for those who believe in medical privacy, freedom and non-discrimination," Matthews wrote.

      https://www.instagram.com/p/CVQ1f8nhN2m

      The Corduroy owner received messages of encouragement and condemnation in response to the post.

      The latest action comes more than six months after Corduroy's licence was suspended in the spring for defying a provincial health order to stop serving meals to dine-in customers.

      That month, a Vancouver Coastal Health official who visited the restaurant was berated by customers and followed down the street with a video camera.

      One of Corduroy's supporters, antilockdown activist Marco Pietro, said in April that if public-health officials and politicians were living in biblical times, they would have been "fed to lions, lit on fire, hung up, strung up" and "ripped from their houses, ripped from their vehicles".

      At various times, it's been reported that the provincial public health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, has received threats from opponents of COVID-19 vaccinations, vaccine passports, and closures of B.C. businesses to prevent the spread of the virus.

      Those threats have drawn condemnation from Premier John Horgan and others.

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