Hop Sing Laundromat May Require Proof of COVID Vaccination

Speaking of mononymous folks, my friend Lê, owner of Philly’s famed Hop Sing Laundromat cocktail bar, is leaning toward requiring proof of vaccination when they reopen this summer. Victor Fiorillo, reporting for Philadelphia Magazine:

According to Lê, he polled his staff and regulars to ask them if they thought he should require proof of vaccination, the same way he requires government-issued identification and dress-code compliance, and the answer was a unanimous yes.

While proof of vaccination and, hell, the COVID vaccine itself have somehow turned into political theater, Lê insists this isn’t about politics for him.

“We can’t emphasize enough that it is not a political statement of any kind,” he told us. “However, our staff is mentally prepared to be cursed at … on a good day and [endure] racist or homophobic comments on an OK day from those individuals with a sense of entitlement. But if you look on the bright side of things, if these people would say stupid stuff like that at the gate, then there’s no reason they should be drinking in the first place, so the staff look at it as a silver lining.”

I, of course, voted yes.

★ Friday, 28 May 2021