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Save Pineapple Hill!

Unfair Covid restrictions in L.A. are destroying small businesses. One businesswoman has had enough
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Watch this short video by Angela Marsden, the owner of Pineapple Hill Grill, in Sherman Oaks (suburban Los Angeles). She built outdoor seating for her customers so they could dine safely, but the government shut her down. But then the mayor allowed a movie company to set up outdoor seating right across the parking lot. Listen to the whole thing; it’s powerful:

That poor woman. Her small business is being destroyed by unreasonable Covid restrictions. Marsden set up a Go Fund Me account to help the business — and lots of people are giving.

Local L.A. media are reporting it. Excerpt:

A restaurant owner who was forced to shut down because of coronavirus restrictions is frustrated after a film crew was able to set up outdoor dining for its workers right across from her restaurant.

Angela Marsden, who owns Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill, said her anger isn’t toward the movie industry, but because she believes restaurants are being unfairly targeted by Los Angeles County health orders.

“Tell me that this is dangerous but next to me is a slap in my face,” Marsden said. “Everything I own is being taken away from me and they set up a movie company right next to my outdoor patio.”

Under the county’s guidelines, video and music production is deemed essential. Many production crews also test employees frequently, while under the recent Los Angeles County health order, restaurants like Marsden’s were forced to shut down their outdoor dining.

Marsden says she spent close to $80,000 building and making her facility coronavirus compliant, only to be told her doors had to remain shut for in-person dining.

“You can’t eat here, but you can walk in the same parking lot 15 feet and you can eat alfresco on a movie set because I guess COVID doesn’t go there right,” Marsden said.

Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill has been a Sherman Oaks staple for more than 40 years, and due to the strain of the pandemic, could be on the brink of shutting down for good.

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