How the new health rule impacts Memphis restaurants
Many eateries support returning to masking
Don't head to a restaurant without a mask. The Shelby County Health Department issued a new countywide mask mandate Wednesday.
The mandate goes into effect at 7 a.m. Friday and requires masks in all indoor public settings for people over the age of 2, regardless of vaccination status, for at least 30 days. Those settings include bars and restaurants, common areas of hotels, multi-residential buildings, and private clubs.
So what does this mean for dining out? Patrons may remove masks at restaurants, bars and other eating and drinking establishments only when they are seated. Patrons must wear masks when walking throughout a restaurant.
Mike Miller, president of the Memphis Restaurant Association, said that he appreciated the clarity of how this mandate was written. “With previous directives, there were questions of interpretation, making it even harder for restaurants to enforce,” said Miller.
Miller also added that of the mandates that could have been issued, wearing masks is the less impactful on a business operations than some of the other mandates that have come in the past. Mandates such as a six-foot distance or capacity limitation in dining rooms would have a direct impact on a restaurant's operations.
While it was not included in the current directive, Dr. Michelle Taylor, director of the Shelby County Health De
partment, said that the county needs to consider six-foot distancing within indoor establishments and needs to consider that mass events without six-foot distancing could cause a continued increase in the infection rates.
Restaurants react to the new directive
Servers at many restaurants throughout Memphis have been wearing masks while at work already.
Wally Joe, the owner of Acre Restaurant in East Memphis, said his employees have never stopped wearing masks, whether vaccinated or not.
That’s also been the case a downtown coffee shop Comeback Coffee.
“As a high volume indoor location we are in full support of folks wearing masks. Throughout the pandemic our staff has been wearing masks. At a time of higher transmission in Shelby County, having these types of mandates in place is comforting for those of us in the service industry,” said Comeback Coffee owner Hayes Mcpherson.
The staffs at Restaurant Iris, Second Line and Fino’s have also already been wearing masks. “We are ready to be partners with our city or county, whether we agree or not,” said owner Kelly English. “We wear masks for other people. I don’t want to live in a mask, but if that’s what we need to do to keep small businesses open, count me in.”
And it’s not just independent restaurants that have had employees masked, so have many of Memphis’ larger chains.
Central BBQ earlier this year had allowed vaccinated employees to not wear a mask, but they changed that policy several weeks ago due to the rise in the Delta variant cases. “It was for the safety of everyone,” said Central BBQ COO Brandon Ellenburg.
Huey’s employees have also been fully masked since last week. “All of our employees wore masks while at work until late June. Following the CDC’S recommendations at the time, we permitted optional masking at work for staff who were fully vaccinated. We were transparent with our staff at the end of July when the CDC expressed growing concern due to the Delta variant that we might have to revert to mandatory masking for all staff, which we reinstated last week,” said Samantha Boggs Dean, director of marketing and special projects for Huey’s Restaurants.
Buckley’s Grill has had a sign on it’s front door for the past several months that reads, “Mask Optional Zone. Enter at Your Own Risk.” Owner Jeff Fioranelli questions the effectiveness of masks, but said he will abide by the country’s mandate. “Overreach is an understatement,” he said. “There are an equal number of experts on both sides of the argument for and against masks. Who do you believe?”
Hayes Mcpherson with Comeback Coffee expressed some concern about the enforcement of the new mandate. “It feels like our state and local governments haven’t learned from the past year and half. The enforcement of these mandates and lack of organization fall on the shoulders of small businesses especially when there is a considerable amount of vagueness and poor communication when it comes to these mandates. Restaurants, service folks, and small businesses end up baring the majority of responsibility when dealing with folks who don’t necessarily agree with our local government.
Many businesses are having to act as the enforcers and communicators more often than they should. The lack of support in this has been irritating to say the least but we are happy to do what we can to do our part in helping our county.”
Lisa Toro, owner of City & State and The Liquor Store, summed up the sentiments of many Memphis restaurateurs with her request that patrons be understanding of the situation, whether they agree with the mandates or not.
“The biggest ask we, as restaurateurs and small business owners have is for customers to please give grace on all things,” said Toro. “Teams are short staffed and tired, and yet still showing up to provide services for our community. It should no longer be considered a one-sided transaction, but rather we are all in this together and here to find joy and escape from this world we find ourselves living in.”
Katherine Burgess contributed to this article.
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining Reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com and you can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer.