NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — California’s pandemic restrictions have sent small business owners like Allen Adams, who owns Paragon Bar and Grill in Northridge, on a financial roller coaster that could cost him his business, which he's owned for over six years.

"The latest restrictions have pretty much shut us down to about 10% of what we normally do, pre-COVID," said Adams. "It’s got us to a position that where I had to lay off the whole front of the house. I had to lay off a couple guys in the kitchen. We’re down to just two cooks now."

From outdoor dining to just take out, Adams is frustrated with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home orders as he tries to keep his business afloat. That frustration led to action when he learned that Newsom dined out at an exclusive restaurant in Northern California as restrictions were tightening on outdoor dining.

After the outing, Newsom publicly apologized: “It was contradictive and I’ve got to own that. And so, I want to apologize to you because I need to preach and practice.”

It was at that moment when Adams started to think twice about the COVID-19 restrictions coming down from the governor.

“Is it right for him to go out and eat? Is it right for him to say he knows how I feel when the first time they shut us down in July, he kept his winery open? So when he says, 'I know how you feel,' he has no clue how we feel.” Adams said.

His business continues to follow stay-at-home restrictions, but he shared that the hypocrisy he’s seeing from the governor led him and other small business owners in Southern California to sign a petition efforting his recall.

Randy Economy, a senior advisor to the Recall Gavin 2020 campaign, shared that small business owners throughout the state are leading these efforts and so far have over 800,000 signatures — about half of what’s needed by the mid-March deadline.

"They are losing their businesses," said Economy. "They are losing their livelihoods. They are losing everything that they worked so hard for. You know, the hardcore people who are actually on the frontlines working with us right now are the ones who have been directly affected by the actions of [Gov.] Gavin Newsom."

While Adams already submitted his petition, he’s concerned about the future of his sports bar.

"I don’t want anybody to get sick and I don’t want anybody to die," he said. "You know, my dad passed away a couple years ago. I understand the pain of that. But at the same time, we might not have anything to come back to."

With the help of takeout orders, his business holds on by a thread. But as restrictions remain in place, he worries if he’ll be able to keep the lights on in the months to come.