Dr Anthony Fauci’s restaurateur cousins wish he’d stop promoting Covid lockdowns and lost faith after he ‘flip-flopped’
INFECTIOUS DISEASE expert Dr. Anthony Fauci's cousins are angry with their national coronavirus czar cousin for urging caution while opening bars and restaurants.
The aptly named Anthony Fauci his famous cousin didn't advocate so heavily for a lockdown given his own restaurant was suffering as a result.
"They shouldn’t do the lockdowns. Especially now. If you don’t abide by the rules [then] shut that area down, but don’t shut down the whole industry," said Anthony Fauci, the 84-year-old founder of La Fontana restaurant on Staten Island, New York.
Anthony Fauci's son Joe Fauci, 57, who also runs a restaurant called Oakwood, echoed his dad's concerns.
"In the beginning, I thought he was fabulous, but then a few times he flip-flopped on different things. He had us all locked down at a tremendous rate," Joe said. "They should have loosened things up when it was slowing down in the summer. Everything else was loosening up except the restaurant business."
Dr. Fauci, 79, said he was to stop the spread of the coronavirus, but has recently said
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' decision to fully open bars and restaurants "very concerning" in September.
Dr. Fauci and his cousin both come from Brooklyn, tracing their roots back to Naples and Sicily.
"My father and his father were first cousins. His grandfather and my grandfather were brothers," the Staten Island restauranteur Anthony Fauci said.
Although his younger brother used to bring mail to Dr. Fauci's family drugstore in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Anthony Fauci and his son have never met their famous cousin.
Joe Fauci said he's "very proud" of Dr. Fauci and that he was doing a "spectacular job" leading the White House coronavirus task force.
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Prior to the pandemic, La Fontana's business was booming, with Fauci opening a second location in Annadale. However, restaurants are tasked with operating at a 25 percent capacity during the pandemic, with Joe Fauci warning the worst is yet to come.
"Nobody is paying any expenses. But in a couple of months from now, you will see how bad it will be," he said. "When the smoke clears, a lot of these guys are going to be in a lot worse shape."
In June, Joe Fauci and La Fontana hosted a summit of 40 restaurant owners and elected officials to discuss plans to speed up reopening.