BAYVILLE, NJ – Restaurantgate continued on Monday for New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy who told reporters he did not have culinary relations with food indoors at Martell’s Waters Edge in Bayville over the weekend. Photos that were released online show the Governor at the bar which appeared to be indoors, with maskless patrons went viral Sunday night and on Monday, Murphy responded to the allegations.
“Not only have I not eaten indoors other than in my house, but I just want to talk about the irresponsibility of not your question, because I’m thrilled you asked it. The irresponsibility of folks sending a post around like that and then elected leaders actually tagging on to that and talking about hypocrisy,” Murphy said. “First of all, not only did I eat outside with my wife, daughter and her friend on Saturday night, we sat in the driving rain and I’ve ruined everything in my pockets, including my wallet that I’ve been cherishing, holding on to for many years. In fact, I can show you there’s not much in it, but this is a brand new wallet as of today. I tried to salvage my wallet over the weekend, it was not salvageable.”
Murphy said the talk of him being indoors at the patio bar is absolutely unsubstantiated.
“But here’s where I’ve got a thick skin or you wouldn’t be in this line of business. I have no issue as it relates to me but here’s where I had the issue. If someone out there implies that, hey, even he’s doing this, so that means you can do it. If one person gets infected as a result of that, or if one person goes to the hospital as a result of that, or God forbid, as Julia has lived through, someone’s life is lost as a result of that, because they know that that’s not true, that’s blood on their hands, man. I don’t know how you can live with yourself,” Murphy said. “So folks, I would just say this. I don’t care if you agree with me on politics. I don’t really care what you think of me personally, I think you probably know that by now. This is for the greater good, everybody. This is to behave responsibly, to do the right thing. Okay? So forget about the cheap shots. Don’t do anything. If there’s an implication if there’s an unintended consequence that somebody could get sick as a result, because that would be really bad and really stupid. So Matt, thank you for asking that. Dustin, good afternoon.”
At this point, the claim is unsubstantiated, pending the legal definition of “indoors” as it applies to the governor’s executive order. Attached to this article are photos of the outdoor, covered bar at Martell’s from the restaurant’s website.
Whether or not the Governor dined indoors, it’s a beautiful day to eat outdoors at Martell’s and be your own judge.
