Supporters of Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab in the Arroyo Grande Village had planned to hold a march Monday to protest ongoing “bannering” of the shop — but instead, they had ice cream.
The parlor had been picketed since October by Camarillo-based Carpenters Local 150, which said a labor dispute was launched because nonunion carpenters were being used to construct interior improvements at a previously planned Doc Burnstein’s location in the Santa Maria Town Center.
In April, Doc Burnstein’s owner, Greg Steinberger, decided not to open that store for reasons not related to the picketing. He said Monday that he plans to instead open a shop next spring in Orcutt.
As of Thursday, the protest banner that had been a steady sight across the street from the ice cream shop was removed, pending a meeting between Steinberger and a union representative. Arroyo Grande Mayor Tony Ferrara had been working to facilitate the meeting between the union and the business, Steinberger said, but one had not yet been held.
A representative for the union’s affiliate, the Los Angeles-based Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, did not return a call for comment Monday.
“Since customers and supporters were planning to come out, we decided to have a celebration,” Steinberger said. “We’re just celebrating the fact that the Village no longer has that blight.”
— Cynthia Lambert
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