Premier Tweets About Buzz, Buzz Responds
[Updated] Premier David Burt had strong words for Buzz Cafe on Twitter, calling any claim they would open “nonsense”, telling them to “COOL OUT”, and tweeting that he apologises for his tone, but that this is a very serious situation and “we all have to work together to save lives.”
Premier Burt tweeted saying, “I’ve just received this forward from @BuzzCafeBermuda. This is nonsense! Buzz is licenced as a restaurant, restaurants are closed for all services! Buzz will not open as a grocery store on Thursday. I have alerted Min Caines & Commissioner Corbishley.”
In a subsequent tweet, Premier Burt said, “It is clear people do not understand how serious this situation is. Everyone if you do not have to go outside, STAY INSIDE. If you have to go out, wear a face covering. This virus has caused death around the world, and we do not want the same here. @BuzzCafeBermuda. COOL OUT!”
“Please forgive my tone & frustration, but I cannot express how serious COVID-19 is,” the Premier tweeted. “There are seniors in hospital, there are cases in Bermuda where we are still investigating the source. It is important that we take this seriously and stay home!”
The Premier then finished off by tweeting, “This is serious. We have people in the hospital, because people are NOT taking Covid-19 seriously! I am angry because we all have to work together to save lives & people are being selfish. I’m not trying to attend funerals that don’t need to happen. Guys need to stay home!”
We emailed Buzz seeking comment and will update if able.
Update 10.54am: A letter from a lawyer states that Buzz did, in fact, receive confirmation from the Department of Health confirming its application had been approved to operate as grocer, and was “surprised and disappointed to then be subsequently informed by way of social media posts that it would not be permitted to open.”
We have asked Government to respond and will update again if able.
The letter in full:
“In response to a recent social media post by Bernews which published copies of Premier’s tweets indicating that Buzz would not be permitted to operate as a grocery store, Buzz wishes to clarify and confirm that on Friday, the 3rd April 2020, the Department of Health accepted and processed Buzz’s application to operate as grocery store in order to provide grocery delivery service. At 3.30 p.m. on Friday, 3 April 2020, Buzz received confirmation from the Department of Health confirming its application had been approved to operate as grocer in the following terms:-
This email is to confirm that the application for an online grocery has been processed and approved for the location at 19 Bakery Lane, Pembroke, and shall now be licensed as BUZZ Grocery.
Buzz’s intention was to operate a delivery food service including some cooked food and normal grocery items or curb-side pick-up in order to support the community in these difficult times and provide a safe and efficient service that would assist in keeping residents home and safe. Having reviewed the statutory requirements to operate as grocer, Buzz was confident it complied with the regulations and submitted its application and paid the requisite fee which was accepted by the Government. As indicated above, the application to operate for a license as grocer was approved by the Government.
Buzz was surprised and disappointed to then be subsequently informed by way of social media posts that it would not be permitted to open on Thursday. Last night Buzz received a further communication from the Department of Health that its license to operate as a grocer had now been denied despite the written confirmation on Friday that its application had been approved.
Buzz will of course comply with the new directive, but it wishes the public to be made aware of the fact the Government approved it to operate as a grocer and its intent was to support safety in the community by assisting in the delivery of food and help reduce the movement of persons within the island.
We realize this is a stressful time for all and we understand the strain the Government and all of Bermuda is presently under. We do believe the matter could have been handled in a more professional manner rather than being targeted online by social media posts by persons who did not have the full facts at the time.
Buzz wishes all its valuable customers and all of Bermuda to stay safe and looks forward to serving you in the future.
As the island and world deals with the Covid-19 pandemic, we are doing our best to provide timely and accurate information, and you can find more information on the links below.
- Live: Our continuously updated live blog here
- All: Our coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic here
- Official: The Bermuda Government website here
- World Stats: Live graph of all cases worldwide here
- Bermuda Stats: Chart of the Bermuda stats here
- Timeline: Visual look at the timeline here
- Comprehensive: Our new Covid-19 website here
Yet this is the same guy that refuses to admit there is COMMUNITY SPREAD.
Continually celebrating “no community spread” tells us we won’t catch it if we are out in the community, so no big deal. Right?
Finally something I can agree on! It appears the over privilege, entitled business owners like Buzz continue to think they can do what ever they want! And that goes for the people that support them.
If a restaurant wants to be creative and become an online grocery store then whats the problem? Bulk stores are not grocery stores but they can sell food too? Time to get creative to keep people employed Premier or is your intent to borrow another Billion?
“Update 10.54am: A letter from a lawyer states that Buzz did, in fact, receive confirmation from the Department of Health confirming its application had been approved to operate as grocer, and was “surprised and disappointed to then be subsequently informed by way of social media posts that it would not be permitted to open.”
WOW….so who’s really lying? Still going to boycott BUZZ in full thought. This is just the cherry on the top after the 3% grats tax lmfao when he could have paid his employees more! GREEEEEED!
“Buzz’s intention was to operate a delivery food service including some cooked food and normal grocery items or curb-side pick-up in order to support the community in these difficult times”
FAT CHANCE…..THE ONLY REASON YOU DID IT IS BECAUSE YOU’RE CLOSED LIKE THE REST OF US AND LOSING PROFITS! SICKENING!
Thank you , you got it , your absolutely right !!!!
It is a business they are evolving to the current environment. There are a lot of companies applying for special permissions and being denied or accepted. Buzz applied and were accepted. I have supported Mr. Burt’s handling of this crisis so far but his Tweet reminds me of someone we all love to hate (Trump). Wish he had handled it better.
Amateurish leadership. Burt is trying to run the country using twitter.
When the heck did Buzz become a grocery store! Its a restaurent! Ugly face of corporate greed. Well your grocery application approved in error! Application denied! Plus your prices way too high!! I sticking with the grocers for a sandwich that I can make myself at $10.00+ and up! Relax yourself and keep your staff safe!
All irrelevant. Buzz got legal regulatory approval to open as a grocer shop.
That should have been the end of it.
Burt is acting like a dictator. It’s amateurish.
Come on. It was clearly stated that all food deliveries were stopping and all restaurants closing. Buzz management think they can do whatever. It’s about $. It always is with them. I don’t blame the Premier for being irritated and losing his patience. It’s utterly ridiculous. A grocery store??? Belvin’s and Garden Market are right there!
It sought, and got, government and Dept Health approval to open as a grocery shop.
An inconvenient fact overlooked by Burt the dictator.
You don’t have to look far to see who he learned that from.
Why would the Department of Health grant that? Shouldn’t that be up to the Ministry of National Security?
I think that this smacks of authoritarian behavior from the Premier. There may be more to this than we see, but so far the spot light is shining brightly on the Premier.
While we all believe that the State of Emergency is the right thing to do to save lives, the power conferred by that State of Emergency on members of Government needs to be tempered.
There are a couple of age old quotes that need to borne in mind by those in power:
“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”
“Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.”
So Burt is no better than Trump who thinks anything he tweets is gospel!
Looks like a Government flip flop to me. Seems that the Dept of Health needs to talk to the Premier.
Because it doesn’t look like Buzz has done anything wrong here.
When the heck did Buzz become a grocery store! Its a restaurent! Ugly face of corporate greed. Well your grocery application approved in error! Application denied! Plus your prices way too high!! I sticking with the grocers for a sandwich that I can make myself at $10.00+ and up! Relax yourself and keep your staff safe!
Amazing. The comments above. Try and apologize or tweet for your absolute ignorance when you are DEAD!!!!!
GEESH..IT IS GOSPEL NOW WHEN AS LEADER OF THIS COUNTRY HE TRYING TO SAVE LIVES – your life included. Go watch Netflex Mark!
Read the article honey. HIS own Ministry had already approved the move. And in any case don’t subscribe to Netflix.
Burt is simply trying to save lives. Don’t fault him for that. He is angry because EVERYONE and their sister is trying to keep the dolla’s flowing.
Nice try but shut your doors and STAY HOME! It is the main objective. Let the grocery stores do the job they were set up to do.
“Buzz’s intention was to operate a delivery food service including some cooked food”
They know full well there is zero take out service allowed.
And yet they were granted exemption by the Government.
Maybe you should take it up with the civil servant who signed off on the permission.
^^ KABOOM ! ! ^^
Crickets!!
It’s very trumpian….you show them the evidence, in their very own words, and they deny it exists.
So you’ll be stopping the other grocery stores from selling anything that has been cooked?
Perhaps that clarification is why they sought, and received, permission from the government first?
The governing elite of the PLP are quick to forget that they cannot simply command people to obey their wishes via twitter. Only the laws passed can do so. I am not aware of any law that prevents buzz from changing their operations from restaurant to grocery delivery company as they have done.
Maybe Chris Famous can show the public the law preventing Buzz from adapting their business model to keep up with the current crisis? Or even better, maybe he can point the public to the legislation that requires all the buzz employees to remain unemployed instead of going back to work in a different fashion.
Times are strange. People and companies must adapt, this is part of the process. Completely quashing economic reinvention is the best way to ensure the economy never recovers…
So Chris, you must be against the 7th Day Adventists operating as a takeout restaurant then.
The exact same Covid health concerns apply. Right? Right Chris? Huh?
You think prices are high now wait until things are back to normal or close to normal.
Before the Premier was the best thing since sliced bread,now that he told Buzz to COOL OUT,some say he is wrong,Buzz is a Restaurant,Restaurants are closed,that’s that,their logic is they want to help,not true,only thinking about how much money they are loosing,well I say the same thing,COOL OUT.
The OBAubpers will say anything but the truth is no time machine is going to return them to the past of POWER!
The Premiere has more to worry about then BUZZ. We all make mistakes maybe they authorized it in error. Ease up the Premiere his just trying to save lives. Amen
How can a grocery approval get done so quickly? April 3rd?
“…Friday, the 3rd April 2020, the Department of Health accepted and processed Buzz’s application to operate as grocery store in order to provide grocery delivery service. At 3.30 p.m. on Friday, 3 April 2020, Buzz received confirmation from the Department of Health confirming its application had been approved to operate as grocer in the following terms…”
What’s really going on, how can something like this be approved at such mega speed?
LOL fastest ever process and approval by a govt dept on ANYTHING
Tell that to all still awaiting their govt approval
If only it was that fast for all of us !
Then online they are looking for the public to support by donating to their employee fund. They should be ashamed.
So Buzz did get approval then? So no law broken here. And why are ppl upset that Buzz is trying to continue to make money? Every single business owner has the same objective.
It certainly sounds as though some wires were crossed with Government Departments. The Health Department should have realized that Buzz is a restaurant and not approved that application. We have sufficient grocery stores and a system for getting to the stores on our designated days. Let’s just do what we can to Shelter in Place and curtail the spread of this dreaded virus. Take it easy Buzz and keep your staff safe. The Premier,( the cabinet, and the police are under a lot of pressure to keep Bermuda’s residents safe and well. Cut him a little slack!
That was just absolute greed from buzz In my opinion . Buzz is a restaurant if you are allowed to operate as a grocery store so should other restaurants trying to get rid of their stock which will go to waste !
Every one will take a hit, Buzz this includes you !
The premier is not in the wrong ! Buzz cool out!!!
So if Buzz was smart enough to evolve… A bit … But just in time for the shut down … Shouldn’t all restaurants be able to Deliver food n their products…
Let’s not get sloppy at the mouth ! Business is Business… Tweaking this lock down to ease tension will be the key to our Survival post Co#19 .
A hungry man is a hungry man…
I’ve personally been impressed with the leadership. Admittedly this issue is a bit confusing and could have been handled better.
However if this is the worse that’s happened during this crisis then we should still be grateful. Many other countries have so much more going on than Buzz becoming a grocery store.
In regards to the Tweets, Burt has used a number of social media platforms to reach the people. So really, what’s the problem at the end of the day.
Worry more about your family members near and far as I have one in New York, Florida and London. I hear their concerns on a daily basis.