The owner of the Brentwood restaurant ordered to comply with covid-19 masking orders said in a Facebook Live video Wednesday night that “it is not over by a long shot.”
Kimberly Waigand told those watching that she was not backing down, but she would not break the law.
“We’re going to keep up the good fight,” she said with the Tom Petty song “I Won’t Back Down” playing in the background. “We’re not backing down.”
The Allegheny County Health Department in August ordered the Crack’d Egg, on Brownsville Road, to close after inspectors received numerous complaints that neither employees nor customers were wearing masks inside.
Waigand, who has owned the restaurant since 2015, testified last week that she would “never” require anyone to wear a mask, because she believes it violates their freedom and liberty.
Despite the health department closure order, the Crack’d Egg continued to operate. The county then sought an injunction forcing Waigand to comply with mandatory covid-19 measures to stop the spread of the virus or cease operations.
Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge John McVay ruled Wednesday afternoon in favor of the county, finding that the governor’s and health department’s public health orders were constitutional.
In her video Wednesday, Waigand said that instead of complying with the mask mandate — which she called an “edict” — Crack’d Egg would temporarily close while they pursued an appeal to Commonwealth Court.
In explaining her decision to adhere to the closure order now, Waigand said, “Mandates are not laws, but this injunction is a law. We’re a law and order country for now. Right?”
When Waigand heard about McVay’s decision, she said, “At first, I was mad. Then I cried about it. Then I got mad again.”
But she continued in the 14-minute video that it was not unexpected.
“It is a judge in Allegheny County,” Waigand said. “There’s still the Constitution.”
“This is for God and freedom, for our God-given freedoms and liberties.”
At one point during the video, someone watching asked if the judge on the case would be up for re-election.
Waigand replied: “I wonder if the judge is voted in? I don’t know.”
Common Pleas Court judges in Pennsylvania are elected to 10-year terms. McVay is up for retention in 2027.
In his opinion on Wednesday, he wrote that he found Waigand’s testimony credible — including how much business she lost during the pandemic. She testified that the restaurant’s income dropped from $50,000 per month to less than $14,000.
McVay expressed empathy for the businesses hardest hit by mandatory shutdowns and reduced capacity, and expressed hope that the legislature would address it. He urged Waigand to reconsider and work with the health department.
But he also said that the governor and state and county health officials have a duty to protect the public.
“If I did not grant the injunction, restaurants that are following the rules will become less likely to do so and thus further increasing public health risks to everyone involved and possibly increasing overall community spread,” he wrote.
Waigand promised: “I’m never going to require masks. Ever.”
