Order has business owners ‘full of joy’ to stressed
Many fear clashes to come over need for face coverings
The imminent lifting of the state’s mask mandate has polarized business owners in San Antonio, causing some to celebrate their coming freedom from coronavirus restrictions and others to dread conflicts among patrons and staff provoked by an absence of statewide rules.
On Wednesday, the fractured landscape was taking shape a day after Gov. Greg Abbott declared that Texas businesses could open at full capacity and make their own decisions on whether to require face coverings starting next Wednesday.
On the North Side, Lucy Cooper’s Texas Ice House owner Braunda Smith — a staunch advocate for bars and restaurants throughout the pandemic — said Abbott’s order had made her heart “so full of joy.”
“All of these businesses that have suffered from the shutdowns can begin to rebuild and repair,” said Smith, who will encourage her patrons to do “what makes them feel comfortable” when they enter her establishment — mask or no mask.
Meanwhile, south of downtown, Pharm Table owner Elizabeth Johnson was mulling how she might enact even more safeguards to protect her customers and staff from COVID-S19.
“I want to know what legal standing I have, if any, to require my employees to get vaccinated,” Johnson said. “I’ve even thought, can I even, when I open up my interior dining room, can I require a vaccination certificate for patrons who want to dine inside. If you want to dine at the bar, do I have the standing to say, ‘Great, can I see your vaccination record?’ ”
For Johnson, the disintegration of a state mask rule will add yet another layer of stress to running her restaurant in the middle of a pandemic.
“It’s more pressure,” she said. “Because it’s so much easier when it’s ‘Here’s the rules, guys. We’re just following the rules.’ Blame it on the
system. And it’s so much harder when it becomes ‘We’re the bad guy.’ ”
COVID-19 has regularly made bad guys of small business owners, said Aaron Blanco, owner of The Brown Coffee Co.
“You’re always darned if you do and darned if you don’t,” Blanco said, sitting inside his coffee shop across a courtyard from Pharm Table. “I have had, through the past year, people pull me aside and say, ‘Why the hell is no one wearing a mask in this place?’ And then I’ve also had people say, ‘Why are you forcing everybody to wear a mask?’ ”
Blanco had not yet decided whether to continue requiring masks for his customers.
But “we’ll always follow the ordinances,” he said. “If the ordinance goes away, there’s nothing to follow.”
Even as Abbott announced the lifting of restrictions, he advised Texans to continue distancing and wearing face coverings, urging “personal responsibility” to contain a still-raging pandemic. Although COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have plummeted from their winter peaks, the United States is still averaging about 68,000 new cases and more than 2,000 deaths a day.
‘Nobody’s happy’
Without a statewide mask order, many Texans likely will no longer feel obligated to take any precautions, said Dr. Vince Fonseca, who served as the state’s chief epidemiologist during the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic.
“I think it’s going to be disastrous,” Fonseca said, “and also in an inequitable way.”
Front-line workers at grocery stores and restaurants who remain ineligible for scarce vaccines will now be exposed to the disease more often, Fonseca said. And small business owners who want their customers to keep wearing masks will have to grapple with a “weird dynamic” that could further erode their bottom line.
“They have to be ugly to people,” Fonseca said, “which then is going to make people mad and decrease business. So business doesn’t really increase because nobody’s happy — not the employee, not the patron.”
Restaurateur Chad Carey, for one, wasn’t happy with the governor’s move.
“It’s just dumb,” said Carey, owner of the Monte Vista Italian restaurant Barbaro and the Southtown Asian cafe Hot Joy. “It’s such a minor — we’re already doing it (wearing masks). We — collectively, society — we’re already doing it. It’s such a trivial inconvenience. The cringey thing about the modern strain of conservatism is that it’s all about individual responsibility. And it’s just dumb. … No one acts like grown-ups, you know what I’m saying?”
Carey also was worried about the added strain on front-line workers who already have suffered pay cuts and constant exposure to COVID-19, “and now they get the distinct pleasure of dealing with people who cloak themselves in rugged individualism.”
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff acknowledged an increased risk of exposure for workers at HE-B, which next week will “urge” but not require customers to wear masks inside its stores. The new policy drew a rare wave of backlash against the popular grocer, as some people took to social media begging it not to lift the mandate.
“If I was an employee, I’d be goddamn mad,” Wolff said. “Because you’re putting them in a vulnerable situation.”
The San Antonio company’s employees and vendors must continue wearing masks while at work.
“Although there is no longer a statewide mask order, H-E-B believes it is important that masks be worn in public spaces until more Texans and our partners have access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” said spokeswoman Dya Campos.
Walmart and Costco did not immediately respond to inquiries Wednesday about mask policies. Target will continue requiring employees and customers to wear masks, unless they have underlying medical conditions and young children, a spokesperson said.
The owners of Sari-sari, a Filipino market, bakery and restaurant with locations in Stone Oak and Leon Valley, also plan to keep requiring patrons and workers to wear masks and social distance.
“Personally, I feel that it’s too soon,” said Camille De Los Reyes, who operates Sari-sari with her husband, Adrian. “Obviously, the virus is still around. We want to keep everyone safe — that’s our biggest goal and priority.”
During the pandemic, customers have generally been respectful and worn masks when shopping and dining.
“Hopefully people are still understanding of that,” she said. “We’re not quite out of this yet, so if you’re going to come here, please still follow what we think is the right thing to do.”
Let people decide
Mauro Garza, owner of the Pegasus nightclub on North Main Avenue, was happy to hear that the governor is lifting the mask mandate because it will allow people and businesses to make their own decisions.
“We’re smart,” Garza said. “If I knew there wasn’t enough information and the government recommended use of masks, I’m going to wear a mask. But what is really bothersome is the nickel and diming of constitutional rights.”
For Garza, any government mandate runs counter to freedom.
“I’ve always said our leaders should make recommendations, and very strong ones at that,” he said. “But that’s it, because these folks in San Antonio are smart. The Pegasus has always been customer-driven. It’s the people who will decide.”
At Josephs Men’s Store near North Star Mall, co-owner Steve Rubin said he will only encourage customers to wear masks but keep requiring it for employees.
“I’m pretty encouraged right now by the vaccine rollout and downward trend of COVID,” Rubin said. “I think people are going to continue practicing safe protocols.”
Myrna Cortez, who runs Paris Hatters in downtown San Antonio with her husband, Abe Cortez, and their daughter Alexandra Cortez Sledge, said they haven’t had much time to mull over what they will do.
Employees will continue wearing masks, she said, but it’s unlikely the store will require customers to follow suit.
“If people come in and they don’t want to wear a mask, I feel like we’re just not going to force them because this becomes an issue with some people, and they get extremely offended and you create a bad rapport with people,” Myrna Cortez said. “We want to remain safe, so we’ll keep our masks, but as of right now I really don’t think we’re going to force people to.”
Half Price Books, a Dallas-based chain with five stores in the San
Antonio area, said customers and employees must wear masks and social distance. Curbside pickup and online shopping is available for those who want to forgo masks.
“Unfortunately, like many other retailers, we have seen some conflict regarding our mask policies,” said spokeswoman Emily Bruce. “It has seemed to slow down a bit in the past few months, but we would not be surprised to see an increase due to the governor’s decision.”
Unfair to workers
The Retail Industry Leaders Association called Abbott’s decision to lift the mask mandate “a mistake.”
“We are certainly supportive of governors reopening their economies and giving beleaguered restaurants and other small businesses the opportunity to rebuild and rehire workers,” said Jason Brewer, the group’s executive vice president of communications and state affairs. “But going backwards on safety measures will unfairly put retail employees back in the role of enforcing guidelines still recommended by the CDC and other public health advocates.”
“It could also jeopardize the safety of pharmacies and grocers that are gearing up as vaccination centers,” he added.
Mike Fresher, president and CEO of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, said COVID-19 protocols will remain in place for the foreseeable future. For one thing, people who purchased tickets to events that have already been announced did so with the understanding that those precautions would be taken.
“I’m not going to pull the rug out from under those people,” Fresher said.
Mask requirements have not been an issue at the Tobin Center, he said. Many signs are posted alerting patrons to the rules. Anyone who turns up who doesn’t want to wear one will be directed to the box office for a refund.
Staff writers Madalyn Mendoza, Deborah Martin and Jacob Beltran contributed to this report.