AUSTIN (KXAN) — Gov. Greg Abbott gave restaurants, movie theaters and retail stores the green light to reopen Friday, albeit with restrictions. But the big question now is — will they? Many say no, or at least not yet.
Those aforementioned businesses, plus public libraries and museums, can reopen but must limit capacity to 25% or less. Counties with fewer than five cases can reopen businesses at 50% capacity, and the order said people can’t be fined for not wearing masks or face coverings.
KXAN’s Alex Caprariello spoke with The Peached Tortilla owner Eric Silverstein, who said opening to just 25% capacity doesn’t make financial sense, let alone with the public health concerns.
“You are going to have to pay more people and your bills start to go up and you may lose money. So it’s important to figure out where people stand on the issue,” he told KXAN. “Ultimately, our decisions are going to be dictated based on if the public has confidence in dining out. That’s what this has come down to.”
Silverstein said he’s considering making everyone wear a mask and taking customer temperatures at the door when he reopens, which could be awhile because he’ll have to rehire his employees and get them up to speed with all the operational changes.
Many local movie theater chains say they won’t reopen Friday either
Alamo Drafthouse said they won’t be opening this weekend, taking to social media to make the announcement. They said once they feel it’s safe to reopen, “we will be providing the safest possible experience for both our staff and our guests, and we can’t wait to see you all again.”
Other movie theaters also won’t open this weekend, either. The film industry is in a hold too, so new releases aren’t making it to theaters. KXAN’s sister station KPRC in Houston reports that AMC won’t reopen “until there are new movie premieres,” and Cinemark is working toward a reopening in mid-July.
Retail stores were allowed to reopen last Friday with curbside or pick-up service. It remains to be seen how many will allow customers inside.
Golf courses can reopen as long as people practice social distancing and are in groups of four or less. KXAN plans to reach out to courses Tuesday to see whether they plan to reopen and to the City of Austin to see if it will reopen municipal golf courses.
Businesses like salons, barbershops, gyms, bowling alleys, tattoo parlors and massage parlors can’t reopen yet. Gov. Abbott said those business will have to wait at least another two weeks.
Credit: Source link
