When the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus was on the rise this summer, Texans searched their dresser drawers and glove boxes to find those discarded masks – or they didn’t. In recent months, the gap between pro and anti maskers has become even deeper and more political, and emotions are noisy in the hotel industry. Nineteen months after a pandemic in which many of us have long since resumed activities such as restaurant dining, it’s easy to forget that restaurant and bar workers are still on the front lines.
In the first phase of the pandemic, workers could alert their customers to a nationwide mask mandate. That ended in March 2021. A few months later, on July 29, Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order that allows private businesses, including restaurants and bars, to set their own masking rules while banning cities and other government agencies from enforcing mandates . Restaurateurs and employees were on their own.
Texas Monthly asked half a dozen restaurant owners and managers how they and their employees are doing. Whatever mask policy they pursue, everyone is concerned about the health of their staff and feels that their servers have been de facto turned into police but with no actual law enforcement to assist them – unless, of course, there is heated disagreement. And nobody wants that.
Jon Alexis, owner of TJ’s Seafood Market, Dallas, and Malibu Poke, Dallas and Austin
We were among the first to mask ourselves in 2020 and we were very optimistic about controlling everything we could. Back then, I felt very comfortable when I said, “Look, this is a local rule or this is a state law and we are asked to adhere to it.” Last year I lost sleep over what could happen if a guest in one of my restaurants gets sick. But telling them what risks to take is quite a charge; they know their status better than I do.
It is now 2021 and I have a feeling that it is not a restaurant’s job to take care of the health of its guests. We put up signs, but I only control the things I can, which is my people and my policies. I am not going to expose my staff to the risk of having a screaming match with an unmasked person who sprays spit on their face if that person sits down anyway and takes off their mask to eat. Even if the state came out with tougher policies today, I don’t think it would be enforceable for this cat to be that far out of the bag. Everyone has made up their minds, and now we’re just arguing about which rules we want to pick the raisins, not even what it means when everyone is allowed to choose their own rules.
Jon Bonnell, chief owner of Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine; Waters; and Buffalo Bros Pizza, Wings & Subs, all in Fort Worth
Restaurants didn’t make the original mask rule. We weren’t asked, but suddenly we were responsible for enforcing it. I would say in our two fine dining restaurants twenty to thirty percent of the guests come in wearing a mask, but in the sports bar maybe five percent wear one – and some people there actively laugh about it. It’s gotten even harder [since the state mask mandate was lifted] because the public has become even more politically polarized about it. If I posted on social media – let’s say Facebook – and said that everyone who entered our restaurants had to wear masks, I would get thirty people who would say, “You save lives” and thirty who would say, ” I will never darken your door again, you are not a Texan! ”And if I put it differently – we will never force a mask on you – some would say,“ God bless you for freedom, you are a great American! ” and others would say, “You’re killing people right now.” An impossible situation for restaurants. We put on masks for all of our public-dealing employees, but I don’t ask them for customers. It’s a no-win and I don’t know the answer. [Bonnell has chronicled his pandemic experiences in Carry Out, Carry On: A Year in the Life of a Texas Chef.]
Kevin Fink, chef and co-owner of Emmer & Rye, Hestia and Henbit, all based in Austin
We wear masks and ask the guests if they are not at their table. At the beginning of the pandemic, we confronted them in the dining room and made sure they followed our guidelines. It was really difficult. But a few months ago I realized something. I was flying on an airline that had a flight attendant walking up and down the whole time telling people to keep their masks on. It created an antagonistic scenario for them and it had a negative impact on them – think about their stress and anxiety. I wanted to be sure our team was safe and secure, but I didn’t want them to have that added burden of hacking everything down. So we shifted the focus back to hospitality. We only have so much time to develop a relationship with a guest, and when we take a lot of it to discuss how they wear their mask or what not, it becomes confrontational. This time we bring our mask policy clearly to the outside world, but if a guest is very vehement on the other side, we do not take on the role of the police. We don’t get in the crosshairs by confronting the guests one way or another. That is not hospitality.
Elizabeth Johnson, cook and owner of Pharm Table, San Antonio
We have a sign on the door with a lovely drawing by a local artist that says, “Please wear a mask to enter our room,” and it has a small peace sign. I would say ninety percent of the people who come to eat at the Pharm Table wear masks. I have Republicans and Democrats as clients, and I try not to alienate anyone. But the past few weeks have been a thorn in the side with new laws on abortion, guns and elections. Talk about a triple blow.
I have an ethical responsibility for the safety of my employees. It is so shameful that the Texas government – the people we elect to represent them – are imposing us, business owners, on being the police officers for wearing masks. That’s what the government should do! And if someone says “Absolutely not” in a loud voice, what are we going to tell them? And what if another guest says, “Why don’t you protect us all?” It makes us tiptoe on eggshells. We can’t force anyone because the downstream effect could be a social media brouhaha or a smear campaign or, God forbid, protest [of our restaurant]. We have to somehow tuck our tail between our legs and gently, gently request it.
Erin Smith, co-owner of Feges BBQ in Houston
About six weeks ago we noticed that more customers were voluntarily wearing masks and it got me thinking. How could I make the customers who were most nervous or prone to COVID comfortable? That is why we are now demanding masks for all of our employees. The easiest thing to do without getting political was to create a safe place for our employees. It’s not that difficult to do or enforce; we treat it like part of a uniform. As an entrepreneur, I don’t want to alienate anyone because people are very polarized. It’s tough. Our two restaurants are both Feges BBQ. One is in the Greenway Plaza [an office complex] and it’s been open for about four years. Our second location is about three months old and is in Spring Branch. It has a grill, but also plates and a really nice wine list. I estimate thirty to forty percent of the people in our neighborhood wear masks. It’s about 100 percent at our downtown Greenway Plaza location, probably because the building requires it.
Chris Shepherd, chef and owner of Georgia James Steakhouse, One Fifth, and other Houston restaurants
With our staff, it is at your discretion to wear a mask if you are vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated, please wear a mask. We kindly ask for it [that customers wear] Masks upon entering. We’d like to get it done, but that’s not going to happen. It’s just an uphill battle. It fell into our laps. It is difficult. When someone becomes argumentative, there is literally nothing I can do. It’s really hard. We have been asked to deal with it and it has become more of a political issue than a security issue. My managers get yelled at by people who say, “It’s my freedom! It is my right! “
[But the pro-mask, pro-vaccine side can be difficult too.] We had a customer who bought Georgia James for a private event and asked that everyone who came show proof of vaccination. One of the guests reported Georgia James to the TABC [Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission] even though we didn’t make the rule. I think TABC sent us a letter after that [but no action was taken]. If you lose your alcohol license or have it banned – it’s game over.
These interviews have been edited slightly for length and clarity.
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