NC store removes anti-mask sign but still won’t require masks, defying Cooper’s orders

As Gov. Roy Cooper asks businesses to do more to enforce the state’s face mask mandate, a store in downtown Wendell did the opposite: encouraging customers not to wear masks inside the shop.

For months, the Wendell General Store had posted a sign that says masks are optional inside. But a sign on the store’s door as of Monday told customers that “We request that you not wear a face covering, for the safety of our customers and staff. Regardless, we will respect your choice to wear one in these times.”

Reached Tuesday, store owner Regina Harmon told The News & Observer that she wouldn’t comment on the mask policy beyond the text that appears on the sign.

“This has been going on long enough, and I really don’t care to have a conversation with you,” she told a reporter. “I’m trying to stay open, I’m trying to do my job.”

But Wednesday, Harmon called The N&O after this story was published to say she had removed the sign Tuesday. A different sign seen on the door Wednesday afternoon now says: “Masks not required, exceptions to every rule.”

Wednesday night, Wendell Police said it is citing Harmon with one count of aiding and abetting the violation of the executive order — a misdemeanor. The citation was issued “upon collection of applicable information and consultation with Wake County District Attorney’s Office,” according to a release.

The sign posted Monday falsely claimed that the store’s mask policy is “based on the law in North Carolina.” The sign cited a 1950s-era state law that banned masks in public places — a policy that targeted the Ku Klux Klan at the time — but fails to note that the Republican-led state legislature added an exemption to the law this summer that allows masks to be worn for public health reasons.

Harmon’s store sells everything from candy and ice cream to gifts and local farm products.

Her Facebook page includes a number of false claims about COVID-19, including a link to an article that makes the inaccurate claim that the virus is not spread through airborne transmission.

Cooper’s executive orders require masks in all indoor public spaces, and businesses are required to refuse entry to customers and employees who aren’t wearing masks.

Violations of the order are considered a Class 2 misdemeanor, and Cooper’s latest order says law enforcement “may cite a business or organization that failed to enforce the requirement to wear face coverings.”

Asked whether local police have attempted to enforce the mandate at the Wendell General Store, Wendell Police Chief Bill Carter said in an email that, “We are in the process of looking into the language on the sign and its appropriateness in light of the language in the most recent order. At this point the matter is under inquiry and once we have made our findings and taken appropriate action, I will pass along what is appropriate to share.”

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services says it works with local health departments to investigate complaints about COVID-19-related complaints at businesses and is checking with Wake County officials about the policy at the Wendell General Store.

“NCDHHS has developed comprehensive guidance to support businesses in keeping their employees and patrons as safe as possible and to slow the spread of the virus,” spokeswoman Amy Ellis said in an email. “With our trends moving in the wrong direction, it is critical that we follow the guidance to help keep people from getting sick and ensuring our hospitals are able to care for those that have serious illness.”

The General Store’s mask policy is an anomaly among the shops and restaurants that line Wendell’s Main Street.

Across the street at Bravos Pizzeria, there’s a “sanitation station” inside the entrance with free masks and hand sanitizer for any customers who don’t arrive with a face covering. Most other businesses in the downtown have signs posted indicating that masks are required inside.

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This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 6:00 AM.