A Toronto Resto Says It's Getting So Much Hate For Keeping Vaccine Certificates In Place

Vaccine certificates are no longer required in Ontario, but that doesn't mean every establishment is ready to kick them to the curb.

Pomarosa, a Latin coffee shop and restaurant in Toronto's east end, announced their decision to keep vaccine certificates in place on Instagram on Tuesday, and not everyone is happy with the choice.

"We will continue requiring proof of vaccination for indoor dining until further notice," reads the statement.

Additionally, the restaurant asked customers who may disagree with their choice to be "graceful" with their employees. They gave thanks "for all of the support and for understanding."

The post has elicited over 1,000 comments, and while many praised the restaurant for its decision, others were less than thrilled.

"This is awful. Unscientific and discriminatory," one user wrote.

Another Instagram user compared the policy to segregation, commenting, "Segregation was never cool not sure why you think that's changed."

Shortly after the restaurant posted their statement, they addressed the backlash on their Instagram story, showing a screenshot of another Instagram story calling for the restaurant to be boycotted for being "science deniers" and "segregationists."

Pomarosa captioned their story, "Bullying is not cool. Getting messages from a right-wing groups is not cool either. It's scary."

"What a day to have a small business," they added in the following Instagram story, sharing what appeared to be a screenshot of their Instagram DMs where they had at least two messages from an account they identified as a "freedom convoy group with 67k followers."

Despite the negative feedback, many commenters defended the restaurant's decision against the hate.

"I am truly sorry you are dealing with these awful comments now. Sending love to an absolute gem in this neighbourhood, we'll be visiting soon!"

Narcity reached out to Pomarosa for comment, but they did not respond in time for publication.