Citing health and safety concerns for their employees, a New Hampshire restaurant has announced they are shutting down for a week ahead of President Donald Trump's visit this weekend.
Trump is scheduled to hold an outdoor campaign rally at Portsmouth International Airport at Pease at 8 p.m. Saturday.
The Country View Restaurant in Greenland announced Wednesday in an email and on its website that after many discussions with employees, they decided to temporarily close Thursday with plans to reopen July 16.
"Saturday's rally event at Pease is just a few short miles [from] our establishment and is expected to attract a lot of out of state people from all across the country to the area so we are taking the necessary precautions to keep our employees and valued local customers safe," read a statement from the restaurant
It's unclear how many people will attend the Trump rally, but a joint protest by Black Lives Matter of Nashua and Black Lives Matter Manchester is expected to take place several hours before.
On Monday, business owners a few miles from the New Hampshire rally site expressed their concerns about a potential COVID-19 outbreak caused by people from around the region attending the event.
"The last thing I need are people that aren't wearing masks, that aren't socially distanced, that aren't safe," said Glen Jodoin, co-owner of The Corner Pub in Kittery, Maine.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has said he won't issue a statewide mandate to wear masks ahead of the rally but has strongly recommended that attendees wear one.
