Who Pays for My Stolen Dreams? A Restaurant Owner's Demand for Accountability
Commentary
For 13 years, I poured my heart into Sage Regenerative Kitchen, my Los Angeles chain of five restaurants that employed 350 people and nourished communities with sustainable farm-to-table and local meals. By early 2020, I was poised to sell for $25 million, securing a legacy for my four young children.
Then the pandemic struck—not just a virus, but a response so arbitrary, suspicious, and devastating that it obliterated my businesses, home, farm, and dreams. While bureaucrats silenced dissenters like doctors Jay Bhattacharya and Pierre Kory and enforced nonsensical rules, corporations like Amazon and Walmart amassed billions, leaving small businesses like mine in ashes. At 46, I'm starting over, and I demand answers: Who pays for what was stolen from us?
The pandemic response wasn't a good-faith error—it reeked of coordination and control. Governments worldwide acted in lockstep: lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and censorship. Therapeutics like
These doctors screamed the truth—lockdowns caused
In Los Angeles, rules changed hourly, each more absurd. By Friday midnight, I'd get edicts: 'Chairs 6 feet apart.' 'No indoor dining.' 'Masks off while eating, on in restrooms.' 'Booths need 8-foot backs—no, 10 feet.' I spent $70,000 renovating outdoor patios, only for the government to ban outdoor dining weeks later, claiming it was 'too dangerous.' I pivoted relentlessly to keep my 350 employees paid—selling vegetables, toilet paper, even low-cost frozen meals. I tried everything, but nothing stopped the bleeding.
Data showed lockdowns didn't curb the virus but decimated economies—$4 trillion in global GDP losses, per the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
, the health department, and police for lacking 'proper documentation' in my own restaurants. I begged officials to reconsider. They said, 'The train is moving—get on.' Americans embraced censorship, begged for restrictions, and vilified those sounding alarms.
I lost my farm, my sanctuary, and my home. This wasn't a virus—it was policy. Small businesses, employing nearly half of America's workforce, were collateral damage. A 2020
Contrast that with corporate giants. Amazon's revenue soared
Who's accountable? Bureaucrats with little at stake followed orders, ignored data, and dismissed my pleas. Health officials who sidelined therapeutics, politicians who prolonged lockdowns, and tech giants who censored truth must face scrutiny. Without cost or accountability, history will repeat. After 9/11, the Patriot Act stripped freedoms under the guise of security. COVID's response eroded more—movement, speech, livelihoods—through arbitrary mandates.
If we the people don't stand up and say enough, bureaucrats will continue eroding freedoms, drumming up any crisis to justify control.
We need independent investigations—transparent, relentless—into why dissent was crushed, why small businesses were targeted, and who profited. Governments exist to protect life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, not to quarantine the healthy or crush livelihoods with unscientific edicts. If I miss a bill, I pay a late fee. If I err in business, I lose money. What's the cost for leaders who destroyed Sage Regenerative Kitchen and countless other businesses?
Friends say, 'Move on.' I am—rebuilding with grit, faith, and love for my four children, creating
For my 350 employees, my community, and millions of shattered entrepreneurs, we deserve answers, reforms, and a vow: never again. This wealth transfer must be reckoned with, or we'll lose everything.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
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