WENDELL, N.C. — The sign on the glass door on Main Street reads, “The Wendell General Store does not require a mask. If you choose to wear one you are welcome to!”
Police cited Store Owner Regina Harmon for defying an executive order requiring face masks at the shop in downtown Wendell, a growing bedroom community just east of Raleigh.
But the citation hasn’t hurt the business. In fact, Harmon said, it is better than ever.
“We’ve been a thousand times busier because we’re willing to take a stance,” Harmon said in an interview outside her store Monday.
The store is small, filled with local crafts, knick-knacks, candy, a cooler with employees serving ice cream on one side, and tables with oversized checker boards in the back.
There was a steady stream of customers walking into the Wendell General Store the Monday before Christmas. It wasn’t just locals. Customers showed up from Jacksonville, North Carolina, and Huddle Mills, in Person County, during the course of an interview with Harmon Monday.
Harmon said people have been coming to her store from all over North Carolina to support her. She and an employee also said they’ve had customers stop in from Tennessee, West Virginia, and New Jersey.
Since news stories started coming out three weeks ago about the store defying state mask mandates, Harmon said supporters have been calling, emailing, and stopping by the store in droves.
“I have seen so much love, so much kindness from so many people,” Harmon said in a recent Facebook Live. She started a list for people to sign in from where they’re coming from.
Since the pandemic began, Gov. Roy Cooper has issued several executive orders requiring face masks in North Carolina. Cooper tightened the requirement a month ago to include wearing a mask outdoors when people cannot stay six feet apart.
Masks have been proven to help slow the spread of COVID-19, public health officials in North Carolina, and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say.
Coronavirus case numbers in North Carolina have been hitting records in recent weeks. As of Monday there were 2,800 people in the hospital with COVID-19 in the state.
More than 6,200 people have died from the virus in North Carolina, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
"I am very worried for our state. Everyone must act right now to protect each other," Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the North Carolina DHHS said last week.
"Do not wait until it’s you or your loved one sick with COVID-19 to wear a mask. Wait apart from others and wash your hands often. Do not wait until it’s you or your loved one alone in a hospital bed. Do not wait until you’ve lost a loved one to this pandemic. Take personal responsibility for you, your loved ones and your community now," Cohen said.
Despite the executive order and the science showing masks work, Harmon said she will not make her customers or employees wear face coverings.
“It’s not my responsibility to tell you how to live your life,” Harmon told Spectrum News 1. She said she has not required face masks in her store since the beginning of the pandemic.
It’s not easy to say exactly why Harmon is defying the mask mandate, other than the political divide over coronavirus restrictions. During an interview with Spectrum News 1, she brought up several conspiracy theories that have been making the rounds in conservative circles about the effectiveness of masks and the origins of the virus.
A second sign on the store’s front door reads: “There are 11 exceptions to the mandate.”
“If you are not wearing a mask, we assume you have a valid reason and we will not question you. ‘Likewise,’ my employees are not wearing masks for valid reasons and I can not question them. There are 11 exceptions to the rules and we/you are not allowed to ask which exception you/they fall under.”
For defying the mask mandate, Harmon is facing charges in Wake County District Court.
Conservatives have rallied around Harmon and her store. The ReOpenNC group held a rally outside Harmon’s store earlier this month after she was cited.
Minda Sportsman, who said she’s a member of ReOpenNC, said she’s become a regular at the Wendell General Store.
On her way out of the store Monday, Sportsman said she always brings people to the store when she comes. “We are a land of choices, not a land of dictatorship,” she said, standing outside the store with her teenage son Monday afternoon.
Harmon could face a Class 2 misdemeanor for violating Cooper’s executive order on masks, which could lead to a fine of up to $1,000 and potential jail time up to 60 days.
The current mask mandate in North Carolina, which began November 25, requires retail employees and customers to wear masks. Retailers are also restricted to 50% occupancy inside.