MELBOURNE, Fla. (WESH) — A sports bar in the Melbourne area is doing big business by banning facemasks.

The owner vows to throw out anyone who puts on a facemask in the bar.

The signs at Westside Sports Bar and Lounge on US 192 in West Melbourne says masks are prohibited.

“We find it completely unnecessary to have facemasks at all. We do not support them; we do not believe in them,” owner Gary Kirby said.

Those who go in with a mask will be asked to take it off, if they did not they would be forced to leave.

Kirby says it’s a security issue. He says someone committed a crime while wearing a mask and was not identifiable on the security cameras.

The owner said it’s good for business.

“My Facebook, the business page, has taken off. They love it,” Kirby said.

The bar serves food, so it was not forced to shut down like other bars in the state. There is no criminal law requiring masks, you cannot be arrested at the bar for not wearing one.

It’s up to each individual business to decide whether customers must wear masks, and up to customers to decide which business to patronize.

The owner says he’s gotten a death threat for prohibiting masks but isn’t backing down.

He said he’s going to start making shirts advertising the no-mask policy.