Pismo’s owner thumbs nose at government while accepting millions in public money. Huh
Fresno’s Hypocrite of the Week also happens to be its best-known restaurateur.
Looky there, David Fansler. You’ve been found out.
Fansler, the owner of Pismo’s Coastal Grill, Westwoods BBQ and Yosemite Ranch, has been among the biggest flouters of city and state policies designed to keep fewer people from getting exposed to COVID-19.
Turns out at the same time Fansler was thumbing his nose at the government, he was gladly accepting the government’s money in the form of low-interest (1%) Paycheck Protection Program loans that can be forgiven if certain conditions are met.
How much money? Between $2.5 million and $5 million for all three restaurants, which filed separately.
I have zero issue with Fansler (or any other local restaurant owner) taking federal coronavirus pandemic relief dollars. The money is meant to keep employees on the payroll and cover costs associated with rent, utilities and mortgage interest — and in many cases still won’t be enough to stay in business.
But when a highly successful private business owner accepts a public handout, isn’t there some societal obligation to not also make yourself a public spectacle? Or more importantly, not endanger the public health?
Clearly, Fansler doesn’t believe so.
In response to rising coronavirus numbers in Fresno County, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order was clear: Restaurants must suspend all indoor dining.
Fansler and other restaurant owners have two choices: comply or risk citations, fines and the potential loss of their state alcohol licenses. The decision is entirely theirs.
Outdoor dining indoors
Whether Fansler thinks his dining rooms are safe is beside the point. The size of the roll-up windows at Pismo’s is immaterial. That determination is not up to him, and unless there’s an epidemiology degree hanging on his wall we don’t know about, his views on infectious diseases are inconsequential.
“As it stands, it’s still considered indoor dining,” said Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County’s interim public health officer.
Rather than accept the simple fact that outdoor dining means, first and foremost, that diners look up and see sky or tree branches instead of some ceiling, Fansler goes into persecution mode.
“I’m being targeted. … This is harassment,” he whines on video, before proceeding to throw a couple competitors with city-approved patio dining under the bus.
Please. Spare us. Pismo’s already had one employee test positive for COVID-19. Who knows how many employees and customers were exposed.
History of selfishness
Fansler is obviously very good at what he does. Otherwise, his places wouldn’t be so popular. I personally think they’re mediocre — in Fresno, the taste and quality of food served at restaurants doesn’t necessarily match the decor — but the native who walks with me during the evenings on the Eaton Trail tells me I’m wrong.
“No way, Westwoods is awesome,” she says.
Perhaps some of my disdain stems from the time, in 2012, when Fanlser attempted a back-door land grab along the Sugar Pine Trail in order to expand the patio at Yosemite Ranch.
Essentially, Fansler wanted to take up half of the city’s 60-foot right-of-way and convert it to a private space — leaving cyclists and pedestrians staring at a wall. Which, no doubt, would’ve led to other business owners doing the same.
Fanlser’s plans were foiled after his intentions got a public airing, but that episode told us plenty about how he views the world.
Fansler and his restaurants, first. Everyone else, second. Not even a pandemic can change that.
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 1:57 PM.
