A restaurant in chic Beverly Hills, California, is facing a negative reaction, accused of inserting invitations into bags for a “low-key” New Year’s Eve dinner inside the restaurant – violating coronavirus restrictions.
Indoor and outdoor dining has been banned in Southern California, as the region faces a shortage of ICU beds amid a sharp rise in confirmed infections.
A Los Angeles journalist tweeted the photo of one of the supposed celebrity invitations of La Scala – two blocks from Rodeo Drive – that compared New Year’s Eve dinner to a key-style meeting, reminiscent of the alcohol-free era of the Law Drought in the 1920s.
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“We are considering making reservations for New Year’s Eve dinner. Inside,” said the invitation. “If you are interested in this, let us know as soon as possible. If you are interested, we will contact you to guarantee the reservation. Keep it discreet, but tell all your friends.”
La Scala in Beverly Hills.
(Google)
The invitation was widely shared on social media and touched the rope of Angelenos, who faced a ban on even having dinner outdoors since Thanksgiving.
“So, it’s normal for the privileged and the politicians to be close to friends and family during the holidays, but not us ordinary people, right ???” one person wrote on Twitter.
“That’s why we are where we are,” commented another. “Total contempt for others drives me crazy.”
Another tweeted, the restaurant “should deliver free meals to healthcare professionals on New Year’s Eve, not trying to bury them in more sick people.”
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A woman who said she was a supervisory nurse in Riverside County tweeted, “I see death every day and we are so out of proportion that people are dying, but we can’t take care of them. I have to stack the bodies in a semi. So , enjoy the party … “
The city of Beverly Hills told the Los Angeles Times that it contacted the restaurant and reminded management of restaurant restrictions.
“We understand that this is an incredibly difficult time for all of our businesses,” said the city statement, “however, the County Order currently prohibits indoor and outdoor dining, including in the city of Beverly Hills.”
On Christmas Day, the Beverly Hills Police Department tweeted that it was aware of the invitations and said it was “handling the matter”.
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La Scala did not comment on the controversy or confirm the authenticity of the invitations. Its website states that the restaurant is closed on New Year’s Eve and that internal and external meals will not be available.