BEVERLY HILLS—Italian restaurant, La Scala, in Beverly Hills was scrutinized for recently placing invitations in their takeout bags declaring an open dine-in invitation for the New Year.
The New Year’s Eve invitation was first noticed by a Twitter user on Saturday, December 26 and as a consequence La Scala received negative comments and backlash, including from the Beverly Hills City Council and Beverly Hills Police Department in which they state they are aware and are handling the situation. The invitation reads a “Speak-Easy New Years Eve Dinner. Inside..Please be discreet, but tell all your friends.” Their invitation contradicts the stay-at-home order and safety measures enacted by the state of California and Los Angeles County.
On La Scala’s website, it currently states that the Beverly Hills location is closed for Christmas and New Year’s Day and they currently do not have indoor or outdoor dining available. On their official Instagram page, they criticized Beverly Hills Mayor Lester Friedman and the Beverly Hills City Council on November 14 by posting “NOW WE CAN’T EVEN HAVE OUR UMBRELLAS THAT HAVE BEEN UP & APPROVED FOR 18 YEARS!!.” They continued with the message “#YOU SUCK #BEVERLYHILLSLEADERSHIPSUCKS #OPENOURRESTAURANTS #BEVERLY HILLS.”
Comments about the post and their invitation on Instagram has been mixed with numerous people calling their New Year’s Eve party a ‘super spreader’ event. La Scala’s corporate office and Beverly Hills location were unavailable to comment.
“The City has made direct contact with representatives of La Scala to confirm the conditions of the County’s Health Order,” said Beverly Hills Public Information Officer Keith Sterling.
According to the County of Los Angeles Public Health, as of December 26 there are over 29,000 new COVID-19 cases reported in Los Angeles County and the CDC reports that there might be a surge of cases due to the holidays.
