Nueces County May Allow Bars to Open
If approved, bars or similar establishments in Nueces County may operate for in-person service up to 50% of the total listed occupancy.
By Menda Eulenfeld - October 14, 2020
Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales will “opt-in” to allow bars to open in Nueces County.
In a press release today, Canales said that she “understand the importance of the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) minimum standard health protocols and will assist in enforcing them at reopened bars and similar establishments in the County.”
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) will announce the state’s approval if it is granted.
In the Governor’s order, businesses who do not comply with the new operation guidelines can be fined and TABC is allowed to suspend a business’s license for 30 days for a first offense, and for up to 60 days for a second offense.
The official guidance can be found at:
https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/coronavirus/docs/opentx/Bars.pdf
These new protocols are for the bars which are currently closed.
Bars or similar establishments may operate for in-person service up to 50% of the total listed occupancy inside.
There is no occupancy limit outdoors.
According to the DSHS guidelines, alcohol can only be served until 11:00 PM each day.
All employees and customers must wear a face covering wherever it is not feasible to maintain 6 feet of social distancing from another individual not in the same household, except when seated at the bar or similar establishment to eat or drink.
Bar Patrons guidance can be found at:
https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/coronavirus/docs/opentx/Bar-Patrons.pdf
Texas bar Owners are on the Brink of Losing Everything
Some bar owners are planning to reopen in defiance of the moratorium, a desperate attempt to generate income — and draw Gov. Greg Abbott’s attention.
With no end to the shutdown in sight, Texas bar owners and employees are on the brink of losing everything
"With no end to the shutdown in sight, Texas bar owners and employees are on the brink of losing everything" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Need to stay updated on coronavirus news in Texas? Our evening roundup will help you stay on top of the day's latest updates. Sign up here.
Holly Jackson has spent 20 years working for the Austin nightclub Barbarella, where crowds of customers danced and drank until the early morning hours. But for months, there’s been no music or cocktails at Barbarella. And Jackson and around 30 of her employees have been furloughed.
“I have no idea what’s gonna happen to me, honestly,” said Jackson, the bar’s general manager. “I feel like I’ve lost my right arm. I have no family. I have no kids, no husband. My entire identity in life was Barbarella. And now that’s gone.”
Gov. Greg Abbott has shut down Barbarella, along with the rest of Texas’ bars, twice — once in March and again in June — in an attempt to stem the spread of the coronavirus. There is no end in sight for when bars will be allowed to reopen, leaving those business owners and their workers worried about how long they can hang on until they lose everything. In some cases, bar owners are planning to reopen anyway in a desperate attempt to generate some income — and draw Abbott’s attention.
Jackson joins thousands of service industry workers who have filed for unemployment, with restaurant and bar workers leading the state in number of claims. About 12.5% of the 3.2 million unemployment claims filed in Texas between the beginning of March and early August have come from workers in the accommodation and food services sector.
But economists say joblessness in Texas will only improve when the state has a handle on the coronavirus and consumers feel like they can safely patronize businesses in person. Still, Texas is experiencing record numbers of deaths related to the coronavirus and high numbers of hospitalizations.
While some bars can serve to-go items or reopen as restaurants, both of these options require them to have a permanent kitchen, excluding many bars across the state. Chris Porter, a spokesperson for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, said about 6,600 active businesses were required to close under the order.
Jackson said she feels abandoned by the state and is frustrated by the “radio silence” from the governor. Abbott addressed the shutdown last week, expressing sympathy for employees put out of work. But he said the closure would need to continue until coronavirus metrics improve significantly — with the state’s positivity rate dropping below 10% for a sustained period of time and the number of hospitalizations decreasing.
/https://thumbnails.texastribune.org/AXWdH3ekYhN4tyf7c5aIadoK-Rk=/filters:quality(70)/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/3516794bd5bd18a194f487b31f74d220/Ironwood%20Saloon%20CL%20TT%2020.jpg)
But many bar owners say their businesses might not survive that long.
Last month, Elizabeth McNiel was forced to move into an RV along with her husband and 14-year-old son behind Ironwood Saloon in Sabinal.
Her husband was the bar’s general manager, and now they’re relying on her income as a school teacher to scrape by. They’ve depleted their savings and maxed out credit cards trying to keep their dream of owning a bar afloat.
“I don't want to lose a dream that we've had for years,” McNiel said. “But on Sept. 1, I will have to close these doors for good.”
The TABC recently allowed some bars and other businesses with high alcohol sales to reopen as restaurants after they applied for food and beverage certificates. However, this workaround requires businesses to have an onsite kitchen and keep alcohol sales under 51%, which excludes many bars across the state and is sometimes cost prohibitive.
Kim Finch owns two bars in Dallas, but neither has a kitchen. So she’s going all in on a third bar — a lease she signed before the pandemic began — that is under construction with a kitchen that will allow it to open as a restaurant.
But even once it’s open, she doesn’t know if it’ll be enough to offset her losses.
“I have absolutely no way to make any income or revenue to pay all the bills, taxes, rent that are due. I can’t provide jobs for my employees,” she said. “I have no way to save my businesses that I’ve worked 17 years to build. And I’m afraid I’m going to not only lose my businesses but lose my house.”
Finch has cashed out all of her investments and her life insurance policy and has depleted 15 years of savings. It’s money she won’t get back even if her businesses survive. She tried opening a pop-up market but was told that wasn’t allowed because even without alcohol, her business was still a bar.
“It’s disheartening. It’s frustrating. It’s maddening,” she said. “I understand there was bad bar operators, too, that were not adhering to guidelines, but it sucks for the ones that were trying really hard to be safe.”
Reopening in protest
Some bar owners say they have no choice but to open in defiance of the state moratorium.
Hundreds of bar owners across the state participated in a demonstration late last month called Freedom Fest, intended to prove that they could open safely. As a result, 16 bars’ liquor licenses were suspended.
Chris Polone, the event’s organizer and owner of the Rail Club Live in Fort Worth, said the event adhered to strict safety precautions — limiting capacity to 25%, requiring masks at all times and enforcing social distancing.
And last week, around 100 bar owners gathered to protest near the TABC office.
But Polone said the group hasn’t been able to discuss the situation with anyone from the TABC or from Abbott’s office.
So now, Polone said some bars are making plans for another unified reopening Aug. 29 dubbed Come and Take It.
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/af0b06390fd730e61e27ddcc775965d7/TABC%20Protest%20JV%20TT%2017.jpg)
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/7423d5457790cbfdb2ef477a1858ac0c/TABC%20Protest%20JV%20TT%2005.jpg)
“We don’t have a choice. Our livelihoods are on the line,” he said. “We’re opening and we’re not closing back down.”
The hope is that if enough bars reopen, the TABC will be overwhelmed and unable to enforce the shutdown order, Polone said.
Polone said he will be selling small ownership stakes of his business instead of tickets to his customers — since he says owners of the bars are still allowed to be inside.
“We’re not selling cover charges,” he said.“We’re making everybody an owner.”
A. Bentley Nettles, executive director of the TABC, addressed rumors of bars reopening in an Aug. 7 letter to the industry.
“Recently we have spoken with business owners who tell us they don’t intend to follow the orders. On that note, I want to remind every member of this industry that it is a privilege to be in the alcoholic beverage business in Texas,” Nettles said in the letter. “When a business tells TABC it doesn’t intend to follow these orders, you leave the agency with no option but to revoke your license and shut you down.”
Porter said any business that defies Abbott’s order will first face a 30-day suspension of its license to sell alcohol. Second offenses will result in a 60-day suspension, with third offenses leading to “stronger actions up to and including cancellation of the permit.”
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/65db7a9a955805c9eb2b164f99293329/TABC%20Protest%20JV%20TT%2009.jpg)
Music venues
The bar shutdown is also hurting Texas musicians and concert venues.
About 90% of National Independent Venue Association members report that they will close permanently in a few months without federal funding, according to an internal survey. Many bars have doubled as music venues and vice versa.
“I haven't had a paying gig since Feb. 11,” Austin drummer Mike Webb said. “Nobody I know has gotten any gigs.”
Some of his musician friends have moved on to other jobs. One is a janitor now. Another is working at a grocery store.
According to the Austin Chamber of Commerce, 83% of the city’s live music venues and 70% of the restaurant and bar owners reported in a survey that they had to lay off full-time employees.
“Most of those businesses indicated that if something doesn't give in the next few months, that they are at risk of closing their doors,” said Laura Huffman, CEO of the Austin chamber.
Polone said the economic effects of music venues ripple outward, funding musicians, agents, sound engineers, distribution companies, public relations firms and other businesses. The National Independent Venue Association estimates that for every dollar spent at music venues, $12 is generated in economic activity.
“If we lose,” he said, referring to venues being forced to close, “music, in my opinion, will never be the same. The local music business will never be the same.”
Lack of collaboration from Abbott
State Rep. Matt Schaefer, R-Tyler, said closing bars, breweries and other businesses with high alcohol sales while restaurants are allowed open is unfair and impractical.
“You can go into a restaurant and you can drink, you could buy a $10 hamburger and fries and you could order three drinks,” Schaefer said. “You could sit there and have your drinks and eat your hamburger, without a mask. Tell me how that’s any different.”
He said there’s been a lack of collaboration among lawmakers with both Abbott and with the TABC.
Porter, from TABC, disagreed.
“From the beginning of this crisis, TABC has worked closely with stakeholders to assist struggling businesses and at the same time protect the health of Texans,” he said. “We’ve also worked directly with industry members and state lawmakers to find ways of assisting businesses.”
Schaefer said lawmakers will have to look at options in the upcoming legislative session, which begins in January, to find ways to offer relief to the food and beverage industry.
“We’ve got to find economic relief for this industry when you have livelihoods essentially being destroyed by government order,” Schaefer said, adding that it’ll be a challenge due to a constricted budget.
State Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, said she’s unsure that indoor dining of any kind is a good idea right now and believes that a lot of the COVID-19 cases that came on the heels of Texas’ phased reopening could be tied to restaurant and bar activity.
But Zwiener lamented that there has not been enough collaboration between Abbott and lawmakers. Abbott did not respond to requests for comment.
“I really wish Abbott would work more closely with legislators, but his, his circle seems to only get smaller,” she said. “Absolutely legislators are, by and large, not at the table, and that seems to be a bipartisan frustration.”
For Jackson, the general manager of Barbarella, the hardest thing to grapple with is that she has no idea what comes next. She’s running out of options while waiting for something to change.
“I have mentally in my head prepared myself to have to lose my house and probably move back home to Orlando with my mom at 40 years old,” she said. “It’s scary. I did what I was supposed to do. I went to college and worked my ass off at the same job, bought a house, and now it’s all being taken away for something that I didn’t do.”
Disclosure: The Austin Chamber of Commerce has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/21/texas-bars-shutdown/.
The Texas Tribune is proud to celebrate 10 years of exceptional journalism for an exceptional state. Explore the next 10 years with us.
Bars and Restaurants Reinvent Themselves to get Around Shutdown
Businesses that make up most of their sales with alcohol were closed down by Abbott's latest shutdown order, leaving them to maneuver through loopholes to reopen.
Restaurants, bars and breweries scramble to reinvent themselves to get around Gov. Greg Abbott's bar shutdown
"Restaurants, bars and breweries scramble to reinvent themselves to get around Gov. Greg Abbott's bar shutdown" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Sign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
Hundreds of Texas bars and restaurants are scrambling to change how they operate, maneuvering through loopholes that will allow them to reopen after being closed by Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest shutdown targeting bars.
Abbott has shut bars down twice since the coronavirus pandemic emerged in Texas. The first time bars were swept up in a total lockdown of statewide businesses. But the second time, on June 26, Abbott singled bars out while allowing virtually every other kind of business in Texas to stay open.
But other operations such as restaurants that sell a lot of booze, wineries and breweries were ensnared in the same order and also forced to close because alcohol sales exceeded 51% of total revenue, meaning they were classified as bars.
“Generally everyone has a common sense understanding: ‘What is a bar? And what is a restaurant?’ I think that 51% rule is so broad that it actually picks up or encompasses businesses that we would normally think of as really being restaurants,” said State Rep. John Wray, R-Waxahachie, one of more than 65 lawmakers who signed a letter asking Abbott to update his order’s definition of a restaurant.
Wray gave the example of a burger restaurant, where a patron might buy a burger and two beers. Oftentimes, the beer will cost more than the food, but that doesn’t make the restaurant a bar, he said.
Emily Williams Knight, Texas Restaurant Association president, estimates that about 1,500 restaurants ranging from steak houses to coffee shops that sell wine were “inadvertently” forced to close when Abbott shut down bars, translating to about 35,000 lost jobs in the state.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission responded to outcry from the service industry with new guidance in a July 30 notice allowing businesses to either demonstrate that they recently had less than 51% alcohol sales or use alcohol sales projections and apply for a Food and Beverage Certificate, documentation that allows them to reopen as a restaurant.
The certificate workaround requires the business to have a permanent kitchen. It allows bars and restaurants to use projected sales numbers instead of requiring past sales to determine if alcohol sales exceed food sales.
The TABC received more than 600 requests from existing businesses for Food and Beverage Certificates since Abbott’s order took place and granted about 300, according to commission spokesperson Chris Porter. Almost 90 businesses have also requested to update their alcohol sales numbers in an effort to reopen.
The Texas restaurant industry is already struggling, with Knight projecting that up to 30% of restaurants in the state could go out of business.
For those forced to shut down due to the bar order, it can be a death sentence and business owners see these changes as their last hope.
After his Dallas restaurant was closed for a second time, Lava Cantina owner Ian Vaughn knew he’d have to figure out a way to reopen — and fast — for the sake of his more than 100 employees and to save his business.
After three weeks of pursuing various options to reopen, Vaughn updated his sales numbers to include live music ticket sales from concerts, knocking his alcohol sales percentage down to about 39%. This allowed him to resume operations.
“I was highly distressed throughout the entire time," Vaughn said. "I had over 100 people out of work, and I just needed to get my staff back, and I had bills to cover and no idea how we were going to ultimately make ends meet. You feel completely helpless.”
Even some traditional bars can reopen using the same workarounds outlined by the TABC — as long as they have, or will obtain, permanent food service facilities.
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/335c9148b0ed4cad7e8569b9305aac1d/Lava%20Cantina%20Bar%20ST%20TT%2004.jpg)
Justin Kaufman, owner of the El Paso Drafthouse and The Rey Muerto, decided to reopen his bars as restaurants by using future sales projections to get a Food and Beverage Certificate.
Functionally, Kaufman’s businesses operate almost the same as before the second shutdown, using the safety measures he implemented when he was first allowed to reopen. He offers the same menus but now requires all patrons to purchase food with their drinks to ensure he stays under the 51% alcohol sales limit. He also hired additional chefs to deal with the increased food sales.
Although he’s happy to be open, finding a way through the state’s loopholes took time and money.
Kaufman estimates that the entire process, from hiring new chefs to deal with increased food sales to applying for the permits cost him around $10,000.
“I wish things have been a little different, and I wish we'd been taken into consideration,” he said. “I've had no choice but to kind of sidestep these situations and do what I got to do to stay open.”
However, the option to reopen doesn't work for everyone. Kim Finch, owner of Dallas bars the Double Wide and the Single Wide, said adding just one kitchen to her facilities would cost about $30,000. A grease trap alone would cost $15,000, she said.
After already draining her savings to keep the bills paid while her businesses are bringing in zero income, adding that expense not an option for her.
“You're just in the dark, you know nothing," she said. "No one’s mentioned a ‘maybe date.' There's not too much longer that we can all just stay closed and keep paying bills.”
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/b3d7e039477175964239d6a994ba071d/Lava%20Cantina%20Bar%20ST%20TT%2007.jpg)
Breweries also found themselves forced to shut down by Abbott’s order, with two-thirds of Texas craft brewery owners predicting that their businesses could close permanently by the end of the year under the current closures, according to a July survey by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild.
Hopsquad Brewing Co., an Austin brewery, reopened as a restaurant using a Food and Beverage Certificate with an onsite food truck serving as its kitchen, General Manager Greg Henny said.
He was lucky, because the brewery already had a food truck on site, Henry said. But he thinks breweries and wineries should have their own classification separate from bars, because they operate differently.
Henny said the guidance from the TABC has been confusing and harmful to breweries. To help other businesses survive the pandemic, the agency allowed “retail and manufacturing businesses” to serve and sell alcohol in a patio or outdoor area that wasn't part of its original designated premises, which some brewery owners took as being able to reopen.
However, the TABC later released a clarification saying that businesses with more than 51% alcohol sales were not eligible.
“The circumstances are constantly changing as a result of which way the winds are blowing with [the TABC],” he said. “It makes us feel frustrated. We're fighting tooth and nail just to stay open, and we've shown time and time again that we can operate safely,” he said.
State Rep. Matt Krause, R-Fort Worth, and Texas Legislative Tourism Caucus chairman led the efforts behind the letter sent to Abbott asking for an updated restaurant definition.
“You've got a lot of these establishments — these restaurants — that are kind of in limbo just because of how much alcohol they sell,” he said. “Restaurants that have already been decimated by the first initial shutdowns with the pandemic [and] by some people's reluctance to want to come in and eat.”
The letter asks that any business with a permit or license from the TABC still be considered a restaurant if it has a permanent kitchen that is operational during all business hours, serves multiple entrees, includes an exhaust hood and fire suppression system, only serves seated customers and follows social distancing protocols.
Abbott did not respond to requests for comment.
Krause said he also believes bars could safely reopen as well.
“I'd like to see them be able to open up under certain restrictions under certain guidelines,” Krause said. “They're ready, willing and able to comply with those.”
Angela Clendenin, an epidemiologist at Texas A&M University School of Public Health, said that the rise of COVID-19 cases can’t be attributed to any one factor, including to bar activity, but instead is a combination of many. However, it is likely bar activity did have an impact on the overall transmission rate and some areas saw declines after their bars were closed and the mask mandate was in place, she said.
The typical bar environment makes it easy for the virus to be transmitted, she said. People are typically in much closer quarters, willing to socialize with strangers and can’t wear masks as they’re drinking. Even speaking loudly or singing over music can propel droplets further than usual, she said.
Clendenin said to reopen bars safely, it will take consumers making sure that they are holding themselves accountable and bar owners enforcing social distancing, masking and other safety practices.
“But ultimately at the end of the day, bar owners need to be able to provide for their employees and their families,” she said. “This is a very difficult time for everybody, but it goes back to individual responsible behavior and I can't emphasize that enough.”
Texas A&M University has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/10/texas-bars-restaurants-gov-greg-abbott-shutdown/.
The Texas Tribune is proud to celebrate 10 years of exceptional journalism for an exceptional state. Explore the next 10 years with us.