Some of you may already be familiar with Andy Shallal, the Washington, DC restauranteur who operates a chain of socialist themed eateries named Busboys and Poets. He attempted (unsuccessfully) to break into politics a few years ago when he ran for Mayor of DC. Like many in his line of work, Shallal has been hit hard by the coronavirus as people avoid restaurants and bars either due to government mandates or their own prudence. This has led him to recently lay off hundreds of his wait staff at all locations, but he still claims he needs more help, so he’s looking to Uncle Sam for a bailout. (Free Beacon)
A socialism-themed restaurant chain in Washington, D.C., run by a multimillionaire former mayoral candidate laid off hundreds of staffers this week due to the city’s coronavirus restrictions, according to reports…
“This is dramatic. This is not a joke,” Shallal told DCist, adding that he is applying for loans from the D.C. government to keep the business afloat. “How’s that going to play out?” he asked the outlet. “It’s going to break the bank, but someone needs to come through.”
Shallal told the outlet that he is also looking at government programs that can help his former employees and said they are welcome to get free lunches at any of his open locations.
Normally, this would just be another sad story of a business being hit by the pandemic and workers finding themselves on the unemployment lines. And at least on the surface, that’s totally true. But when you look a bit deeper into the owner’s history, you’ll find that his actions today really don’t match the rhetoric he’s famous for.
You see, Andy Shallal doesn’t just have a “socialist-themed restaurant.” The guy is a hardcore socialist right down to his roots. He’s used his restaurants to host events for Bill Ayers (a Weather Underground terrorist), Angela Davis (the former leader of the U.S. Communist Party) , as well as a Venezuelan government reception honoring Hugo Chavez.
But the list doesn’t stop there. He’s also used his facilities to honor a group named DC 9/11 Truth. They describe the Sept. 11 attacks as a “false flag operation” and seek to “disseminate the evidence proving involvement of U.S. government officials and U.S. allies in the attacks of 9/11.” He’s also demonstrated support for convicted cop killers Leonard Peltier and Mumia Abu-Jamal. He refers to Isreal as a “terrorist state.” This guy is a real peach.
So if he’s that much of a socialist, how did he become so rich himself? Oh, wait… nevermind. I forgot about Bernie Sanders. But seriously, shouldn’t he be giving back some of that money to his sub-minimum wage workers rather than just laying them off? I suppose his efforts to get a bailout from the government make sense since he believes the government should be controlling pretty much everything, but he’s clearly not practicing what he preaches.
Let’s compare Shallal’s response to the crisis to the actions being taken by nasty capitalist giant Best Buy. They too have had to reduce their operating hours and send a bunch of workers home. But instead of just laying them off, they’ve decided to reinvest some of their massive profits into keeping their employees afloat. This is from a statement that their CEO, Corie Barry, sent out to all of their workers and customers last night. (Emphasis added)
As for our employees, let me start by saying this: We will not make any employee work if they aren’t comfortable doing so. Further, if an employee is sick or needs to take care of their children home from school, we are paying them. Additionally, with our reduced hours and less staff in the stores, we are paying affected employees for their regularly scheduled hours.
We are in a difficult time and find ourselves in uncharted waters. My best wishes to you and your family as we navigate the days ahead together.
Corie Barry, Chief Executive Officer
Best Buy
Imagine that. The socialist is sending all of his workers to the bread lines and the capitalist is paying his staff to stay home if they need to whether they are sick or just not needed at the store. And I’d be willing to bet that all of those Best Buy employees are going to have a very positive attitude about their employer and their jobs when this is over and they return to work. I wonder how Mr. Shallal’s former staff will be feeling about his admirable socialist values if they ever get their old jobs back?
