WATERLOO -- Some local restaurants in Waterloo Region have received backlash for letting the public know their staff is fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Graeme Kobayashi, owner of Counterpoint Brewing, listed his business on SafeToDo.ca, a resource cataloguing businesses with fully vaccinated staff or other vaccine policies.

He said he opted to list the brewery to "show our customers who are concerned still about the pandemic about entering business that we're continue to be as safe as possible."

But soon after, he says hateful comments then came in from anti-vaccination groups that misunderstood his intent.

"We didn't force our staff to get vaccinated, they all did it on their own terms, voluntarily," Kobayashi explained.

SafeToDo.ca was eventually shut down just days after it was made, with the creator citing increased attacks on businesses listed on the website.

"I cannot, therefore, in good conscious continue," the creator wrote in a tweet.

Ryan Mallough, senior director of provincial affairs for the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses called the shutdown "disappointing," adding many restaurants are still struggling.

"Not only are we dealing with logistics or reopening, getting employees back in, health and safety protocols, getting your supply chain organized, but having this vaccine question hover over them," he said.

Without government guidance, Mallough says businesses are left to navigate their vaccine policies for staff and customers alone.

"They are very much moving into unchartered territory and potentially open themselves up to some significant liability on the human rights and privacy side," he said.

Staff at Jack Burger Pub in Kitchener have decided to keep their vaccination status private, with the managing calling it a personal choice.

"We don't want to alienate anybody or make them feel belittled or discriminated against because they're choosing not to be vaccinated," said manager Zachary Balloch.

Still, Balloch said businesses that want to publicize their policy should also have that choice without harassment.

"Threatening things like violence and backlash, that does nobody any good, hate just breeds hate," he said.