The Grille at Flower Hill, a Montgomery County restaurant that sparked a social media uproar for its objection to Maryland’s mask requirement, will be closing indefinitely, reports the Bethesda Magazine.

The owner of the Grille says he is indefinitely closing and stepping away from the restaurant, following a flood of online attacks linked to a Facebook post that stated the restaurant would not allow its employees to wear face masks.

The Grille closed initially on Monday, July 6, following complaints that began in late June from customers that employees at the Gaithersburg restaurant were not wearing masks. The county then visited the Grille for an inspection on July 2, and issued a warning. According to NBC 4, the July 6 closure of the restaurant was not mandated by Montgomery County.

In a Facebook post earlier this week (that has since been deleted), the restaurant lashed out at the customers who had complained about the employees’ lack of masks. Failing to wear a mask in a public space is a violation of both Montgomery County’s mandate and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan’s executive order.

“Let me be very clear…my staff will not wear face masks while working here at the Grille,” reads the post, according to screenshots posted by NBC 4 reporter Aimee Cho. “If that bothers you then please dine elsewhere and please try to find something more important to occupy your time such as volunteer at a nursing home or soup kitchen.”

The post was met with more than 800 comments — many of them critical of the restaurant’s objection to the mask requirement.

“If you think I would eat at an establishment that puts its employees and MY health at risk you’ve got another thing coming,” wrote one commenter, DCist reported on Tuesday. “Are you crazy?!!!”

The owner, who did not reveal his name to Bethesda Magazine out of fear for his safety, says he received several death threats following that Facebook post and is “tired of fighting it.”

“My bartender has shown interest in taking the restaurant over. But as far as I’m concerned, I’m done,” the owner tells Bethesda Magazine.

“I’m tired of fighting it. I’m tired of arguing with people who don’t know what they’re talking about. I don’t know what’s gonna happen with the restaurant. But for now, the restaurant’s closed,” he told the magazine. “If my employees can’t work without masks, which is what they want, we’re not gonna open.”

In his interview with Bethesda Magazine, the owner says that the mask mandates from the state and county are not constitutional, and that wearing a mask employees could lead to oxygen deprivation — a claim that’s been debunked recently by medical experts. He instead touted President Donald Trump’s messaging on coronavirus as a reliable source of pandemic science — specifically his statement that 99% of coronavirus cases are totally harmless. 

“That’s from the president of the United States, based on science. Who am I to not agree with the president of the United States? He has access to the greatest scientists in the world,” he says in the interview.

The restaurant was expected to reopen on Thursday, July 9, according to its deleted Facebook post, and was going to be revisited by county health officials that day.

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Montgomery County visited more than 1,900 businesses to educate them on coronavirus safety guidelines and assist them in reopening. Several businesses were closed for failing to follow restrictions, including two Silver Spring hookah lounges, which are not permitted to open under the county’s Phase 2 reopening. 

In a July 9 statement, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich says that 96 percent of businesses that were visited during phase two have complied with safety guidelines. He says that the county will continue to close businesses who reject the help of health officials and disregard safety restrictions.

“They repeatedly allowed customers and their employees to break rules and put those people—and all of the people and the family members they encounter—in danger,” Elrich says of the closed businesses. “Although I hope we do not have further situations of noncompliance, we will continue to close down any business that does not feel it shares responsibility to keep our entire county safe from COVID-19.”