Philly’s Kenney Dines Indoors While City’s Restaurants Limited to Outdoor Dining

Someone snapped a photo of Philadelphia’s Mayor Jim Kenney enjoying a night of fine dining indoors in a Maryland restaurant while his city’s restaurants remain limited to accommodating customers with outdoor seating only.

Philly restauranteur Marc Vetri posted the photo on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CEiOJsPjtq1/

The photo shows a maskless Kenney sitting inside a eatery in Maryland. The photo went viral on social media thanks to Philadephia chef and restauranteur Marc Vetri.

“I guess all your press briefings and your narrative of unsafe indoor dining don’t apply to you. Thank you for clearing it all up for us tonight,” Vetri wrote, calling out Kenney apparent hypocrisy.

Unlike Philadelphia, Maryland allows limited indoor dining based on the state’s current COVID-19 guidelines.

The Mayor’s Office issues a statment which curiously blames the Trump administration for delays in re-opening Philadelphia’s restaurants:

“Throughout the pandemic the Mayor has consistently deferred to the guidance of the Health Commissioner, who in this case felt strongly about waiting until Sept. 8 to resume indoor dining. If elected officials at the federal level had similarly deferred to health experts over the past five months, this might not even be an issue by now.”

Deana Gamble, Spokesperson for Philadelphia Mayor’s Office.

Philadelphia plans to allow limited indoor dining with 25% capacity starting on September 8th.

The mayor himself offered a half-hearted apology on Twitter:

I know some are upset that I dined indoors at a restaurant in Maryland yesterday. I felt the risk was low because the county I visited has had fewer than 800 COVID-19 cases, compared to over 33,000 cases in Philadelphia.

Regardless, I understand the frustration.

— Mayor Cherelle L. Parker (@PhillyMayor) August 31, 2020

Our Take…

It’s another example of “rules for thee, but none for me.” The hypocritical Mayor of Philadelphia proved that he belongs on our list of the Worst Mayor’s in America (and we’ll be adding him soon!) While his own businesses have languished to the point of near ruin, Kenney decided to cross state lines and support another state’s business (that apparently, a friend owns.)

The optics here are horrible. Why not support your own city’s businesses and dine outdoors like you want everyone else to do? Moreover, the apology online was ridiculous. Like the spouse saying “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings”, Kenney’s not really sorry. Add on top to these morass of buffoonery the statement from his office attempted to shift blame to the federal government, and you have the makings of a glaring unforced buffoonish error.