Houston bars reopen with changes on tap
Venues may seat 25 percent capacity at tables only with protocols
Drink up.
That simple message played out in full, on-the-rocks measure Friday, the first day that Texas bars, breweries and wine bars were allowed to reopen for limited service.
A thirsty Houston met the day with glee, relief and a jigger of trepidation.
“It's nice to not be sitting in front of my TV for the first time in a while,” said Rachel Ferrera, a Friday customer at Eight Row Flint icehouse in the Heights. “I am really enjoying it. I am not nervous about being out. I feel like the bars are doing what they can to keep us safe. I don’t have any concerns.”
For David Jones, another customer at Eight Row, Friday was a day to experience something that was, before the pandemic, routine.
“We are doing the best we can to stay safe while getting back to some normalcy,” he said.
May 22 was a pivotal day for restoring that measure of normalcy to a city that freely mixes business with pleasure over dinner and drinking. Not only were bars allowed to begin service at 25 percent under Gov. Greg Abbott’s mandates for reopening Texas, restaurants could increase business from 25 percent occupancy to 50 percent.
It’s a day that Michael Paolucci has been anticipating for two months. The
“We are being told not to use the bar area — at a bar.”
Charles Armstrong, owner of JR’s Bar & Grill and South Beach
owner of Pub Fiction in Midtown estimates he has lost $500,000 in revenue since the lockdown that also forced him to lay off the bar’s 41 employees. Even though he was eager to reopen, he also was anxious. “I don’t know if it’s a relief or more stress,” Paolucci said. “We need to get people to stay at their tables and not move around. That’s going to be a challenge.”
Bars that opened Friday worked under a lengthy list of health protocols set out by the state that included limiting tables to no more than six customers and spacing those tables at least 6 feet apart; providing hand sanitizing stations; creating unobstructed pathways for guests to maneuver; establishing contactless payment; and preventing people from standing at the bar.
The latter mandate is hard to swallow for those who enjoy sidling up to the bar and interacting with bartenders and other customers. For busy bars, it’s a measure that changes the bar experience and limits sales.
“We are being told not to use the bar area, at a bar. We have to direct people away from it. People have to sit at a table and the servers have to come to them,” said Charles Armstrong, owner of JR’s Bar & Grill and South Beach. “It’s a bar but you can’t have people at the bar area. Are you going to pretend the bar is not there? It’s the most dominant feature in the place. It’s the elephant in the room.”
The first day of drinking in Houston not only felt different, it looked it. Servers wore masks and gloves; digital menus on the table; blocked off tables; tape or signs on the floor to limit distance between customers; and at some bars mandatory temperatures taken at the entrance.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it all plays out,” said Darren Van Delden, co-owner of 77 Degrees bar in Midtown. “I’m not sure what to expect. Everyone’s excited to get back out. Hopefully our customers will be understanding of the changes.”
While the Texas Restaurant Industry was unable to estimate how many bars resumed business Friday, the bar industry was hammered by the shutdown which went into effect March 20. The losses were staggering: 75,000 jobs, $42 million in liquor taxes, and $630 million in revenue for the 5,500 bars in Texas.
“I feel privileged to be out today. I took my freedom for granted,” said Janet Weiss, a customer at Kirby Ice House. “This is so refreshing. I am not nervous about being out and I am over 60.”
Even for servers, the bar experience was something that had to be re-learned.
“The only thing that makes me nervous is how guests are going to act. The more people drink, the less socially distant they get,” said Melise Rodriquez, a bartender at Eight Row. “As long as they are careful, it will be fine.”
For some operators, Friday was too soon to reopen.
“We’re not in the position to open even at 25 percent. We need more time to put together a plan of action with all the regulations,” said Alba Huerta owner of Julep bar on Washington Avenue.
She said she needed more time to bring staff back, train them, re-order supplies and plan for how limited service would work on her particular menu of carefully crafted cocktails.
“It’s like going back and reopening all over again from the beginning,” she said. “Turning the key needs to be thoughtful and well done. We just need a little more time.”
Two of the first customers Friday at Urban South Brewery in Houston’s sprawling Sawyer Yards were familiar faces at the tap room. Friends Ryan Alexander and Ron Hill, both from Missouri City, wanted to be among the first to sample one of several new fruited sour beers that Urban South was set to debut Friday. Neither beer aficionado was worried about their health because of the considerable safety precautions the brewery put in place.
“The bigger issue for me was to come out and economically support someone that was shut down,” Hill said.
For others, Friday was one step closer to life becoming conventional again in Houston.
“I love being here today. I am ready to get back to my normal life and feel like a normal person,” said Calla Sprague at Kirby Ice House. “I want to have things to go again. I’ve returned to work. To me, there is no difference in being at the office than being at a bar.”