Angela Marsden, the owner of Pineapple Hill Saloon and Grill, posted a video on social media after she saw production tents and tables set up in a parking lot just a few feet from the outdoor dining area she's not allowed to use.
[Ads /]
People involved in the television production crew were seen dining under the tents.
"Everything I own is being taken away from me and they set up a movie company right next to my outdoor patio," Marsden said in the video. "They have not given us money and they have shut us down. We cannot survive. My staff cannot survive."
Marsden has owned the restaurant for 10 years. She said she spent around $80,000 setting up an outdoor dining area and making changes to meet L.A. County's health requirements, but she's run out of loan money and can't afford to offer takeout, so for now, she's closing.
[Ads /]
Marsden said she went to the restaurant to pay her staff and was in shock when she saw the production tents.
"The day they come to get their last paycheck, you punch me in the face and say that this is dangerous. Right here is dangerous. But just walk over there and eat," Marsden told our sister station KABC-TV.
Marsden and other small business owners are making signs, preparing to hold a protest at the home of L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.
Marsden said she hopes to reopen her business, but she is not sure how it will survive without financial assistance.
Much of California is on the brink of sweeping new restrictions on businesses and activities, a desperate attempt to slow the frighteningly rapid escalation of coronavirus cases that threatens to overwhelm hospitals.
With a new lockdown looming, many rushed out to supermarkets Saturday and lined up outside salons to squeeze in a haircut before the orders in some areas take effect on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.