Senate Candidate Tweets Kudos To Sick Waitress Who Came Into Work, Leading Her Restaurant To Shut Down Its Social Media

It's always a good idea to generously tip your waitresses if they provide good service. It's never a good idea to tweet in support of them coming into work sick in the midst of a global pandemic.

This is the lesson Ohio Republican Senate candidate Josh Mandel learned (or more accurately, chose not to learn) last weekend after he tweeted his kudos to a waitress for coming in to work sick due to the fact the restaurant, Inside The Five, was short-staffed.

"Even though Brianne was sick today, she came to work because she knew they were short servers," he tweeted. "These are the type of American workers that make our country strong."

PERRYSBURG, OH -- @InsideTheFive is a cool brewery started by two NFL vets. Great food and spirited waitresses!Even though Brianne was sick today, she came to work because she knew they were short servers.These are the type of American workers that make our country strong. pic.twitter.com/o0VFkDkjuo

— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) August 20, 2021

Under non-pandemic circumstances, the tweet likely wouldn't have generated the response that ensued, but COVID, along with the so-called labor shortage among restaurants, led to a perfect storm of backlash. Many criticized Mandel for celebrating a worker coming into work sick, potentially endangering her fellow employees.

Cool cool cool Josh, letting everyone know that this restaurant allows sick workers to serve their customers. I'm sure this will be a big boost for them! Also, can someone call the health department?? 🤢

— Bye Rob Portman (@ByeRobPortman) August 20, 2021

these are the types of American workers who spread illness when they come to work sick and serve food to patrons. Incredibly irresponsible to announce this to the internet. obviously it happens but why are we bragging about it?!

— petty mayonnaise (@pettymay0nnaise) August 20, 2021

Why might coming into work sick during a pandemic be a bad idea?

— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) August 21, 2021

Others took shots at Inside The Five for allowing Brianne to come into work while hypothesizing that she was likely underpaid and couldn't afford to take a sick day.

Even though Brianne was sick today, she came to work because she knew she'd be fired from her minimum wage job that offers no benefits for wanting to get better and be considerate of other people's health.

— lurk mode (@mrandresbarraza) August 20, 2021

I’m not sure what’s more off-putting – “spirited waitresses” or encouraging people to work while they’re sick. Anyhoo, I won’t be eating at @insidethefive. 💁‍♀️ https://t.co/RZwEhYJ5ao

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) August 20, 2021

Inside the Five is about to have a very big lawsuit on its hands. https://t.co/DOvLJOz23y

— Scott McGrew (@ScottMcGrew) August 21, 2021

The strong reaction caused Inside The Five to delete their social media accounts. Their pages on various community-review hubs like Trip Advisor and Yelp were review-bombed by people warning others about a restaurant that may allow sick staff to handle their food and potentially spread COVID-19. Inside The Five's management went into damage control on Facebook; a screenshot of an apparent manager reassuring customers that the restaurant urges its employees to stay home if they're feeling sick circulated amidst the controversy. The manager also said Mandel did not get permission to post the tweet that ended up hurting the business.

Shot / Chaser pic.twitter.com/OCgLEoOQ3J

— YaGirlJ (@YaGirlJ26) August 21, 2021

In response, Mandel's goodwill towards Inside The Five flipped, as he disparaged the restaurant for giving into "the woke mob."

Hey @InsideTheFive, instead of giving into the woke mob, how bout having your employee’s back and giving her a raise.While so many people are getting paid to sit home and do nothing, Brianne muscled through feeling under the weather and came to WORK. https://t.co/STtd8ay7Yk

— Josh Mandel (@JoshMandelOhio) August 21, 2021

The wild microdrama was summed up thusly by Ohio reporter Joel Buchanan:

In the aftermath of Mandel tweeting this,- The worker got sent home- The brewery deleted its Twitter account- The business received loads of bad attention/press & has had to do damage control- Mandel has since trashed the business multiple timesNever seen anything like it https://t.co/PhUFoyMfPC

— Tyler Buchanan (@Tylerjoelb) August 21, 2021