Crystal Wise
Jason Suder
Jason Suder, owner of Tulips
Gone are mask mandates, capacity restrictions, and business closures in Texas — at least, those enforced by the state.
Following Gov. Greg Abbott's announcement that such mandates will end starting next Wednesday (or immediately for Tarrant County, according to County Judge Glen Whitley), local businesses are now grappling with whether or not they should continue enforcing their COVID-19 polices.
It's a welcome change for some business owners like restauranteur Jon Bonnell, who called the announcement "great news" in an interview with Fort Worth Magazine.
"It signals that we're turning a corner and on our way to a light at the end of this tunnel," says Bonnell, who runs popular Fort Worth restaurants Bonnell's Fine Texas Cuisine, Waters, and Buffalo Bros. But "we still need to be careful ... COVID is not just over."
Bonnell says he'll continue following some procedures like offering curbside and to-go, keeping hand sanitizer available, and utilizing plexiglass. Restaurant employees will continue wearing masks — but masks are no longer a requirement for patrons.
He's also planning to up dining room capacity (to what degree, he has not yet decided).
Still, other business owners remain wary about Abbott's decision. The Grand Berry Theater, for example, was one of the first to announce that its COVID-19 policies will stay in place despite the lifting of the mandate. The independent movie theater has been running at 35% capacity while enforcing mask-wearing and social distancing.
"For us, the issue has not been not having enough capacity," Grand Berry Theater owner Jimmy Sweeney says. "The issue for us has been people need to feel comfortable going to the movies. They won't feel comfortable if they feel like it is a riskier environment to catch COVID."
He feels the lifting of the mask and capacity mandates is a bit too soon.
"It feels like we've gotten 5/6 of the way through a marathon, and we can see the finish line, and we're deciding to stop or start running backwards," Sweeney says.
Meanwhile, music venues — among those hit hardest by COVID-19 restrictions — are also debating whether to raise capacity, remove mask policies, or do something in between.
Brooks Kendall, co-owner of Race Street music venue The Post, says he was caught off guard by Abbott’s announcement and will be putting the topic to a vote among his staff. The problem, he says, will come with enforcing mask-wearing or social distancing after the order takes effect next week.
“I can’t see us being as aggressive in making people wear masks if we continue to require customers to do so,” Kendall says.
Kendall says that, ultimately, The Post will likely find some middle ground. The venue will neither return to the lack of restrictions pre-COVID nor will it be as strict when the mask mandate was in effect. Kendall does, however, maintain that some restrictions will remain in place, and the business will continue to require employees to wear masks.
Similar to Kendall, Jason Suder of Tulips will continue to require employees to wear masks but is noncommittal when it comes to enforcing such a rule on customers — preferring a wait-and-see approach. Yet, concerning Abbott’s decision, he firmly believes it was the wrong thing to do and could potentially hurt his business.
“It’s infuriating,” Suder says. “We’ve done everything we can to maintain a safe work environment and a safe place for our customers ... We’ve been enforcing masks and social distancing so that we can return to a sense of normalcy and eventually return to enjoying, as a community, this international language that we call music. And we were looking forward to May or June of this year when that might happen. But this, this is just too soon.”
Tulips, which opened last November and technically has a max capacity of 600, has been keeping its venue at a max capacity of 125 — well below the current 50% mark — and has been one of Fort Worth’s stricter businesses when it comes to enforcing the mask mandate.
Suder believes that removing the mandate is putting businesses in a precarious position.
“It’s a Catch-22,” Suder says. “No matter what I decide to do, I’m going to lose one part of my clientele or the other. Many people come here because they feel it’s a safe environment, while others couldn’t care less about the masks and just want to enjoy a night out. If I lift the mandate, I’m going to lose those customers who felt safe at our place of business. [Abbott] is basically forcing you to decide and pitting one side against the other.”
