Today is VM Day — victory over the vaccine mandate — in New York. But before you tear up your proof of vaccination and burn your mask, know that some restaurants will be keeping those protocols in place, primarily for the safety of their employees. Despite Mayor Eric Adams’s triumphal announcement at a press conference last Friday that, beginning March 7, “folks can come in and enjoy the restaurants, enjoy the businesses, and be a part of this great city without having to show proof of vaccination,” individual restaurants have the last word on the subject.
One restaurant that plans to keep the mandate in force for the time being is Dame, a popular seafood restaurant in Greenwich Village, according to Grub Street. Other owners are breathing a sigh of relief, observing that the end of the mandate means an end to the heated confrontations with irate customers at the door.
Your best bet for now as a restaurant consumer is to determine at the time of your reservation where the establishment stands on the mandate.
