Several small Nashville bar owners are begging Mayor John Cooper for help enforcing the rules surrounding COVID-19, as their businesses continue to struggle, which some say is because of the poor decisions of other bar owners. Speaking to News Channel 5, the owners are asking for stricter reenforcement so that everyone can get back to work, hopefully sooner rather than later.
“I have gone from moments of being hopeful, and feeling like fighting again, and then I’m right back down to hyperventilating and crying,” Amy Dee Richardson, owner of Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge in Madison, said.
Since March, Dee’s has only been open for about a week, when Nashville briefly entered Phase 3, before returning to a modified Phase 2, which is all the more heartbreaking as she follows the rules, while watching other bars find “loopholes” that allows them to be open, posing a potentially greater health risk.
“To see the actions we’ve seen is like getting punched in the face,” Dee said. “You know it’s coming, but it doesn’t hurt any less.”
Andrew Cook with Fox Bar and Cocktail Club agrees.
“We wish that Mayor Cooper would enforce the rules he has put into place, and punish businesses that are not enforcing mask mandates,” he said.
“It’s a greater good opportunity for all of us to take care of the city, our guests and our employees,” added Kevin Sanders, also with Fox Bar and Cocktail Club.
As part of the modified Phase 2, bars that make up most of their income from alcohol are not allowed to be open, while restaurants can remain open at 50 percent capacity. It’s a distinction that Andrew says is unfair.
“We can operate safely in a limited capacity and do our jobs and create a safe environment for our customers, and we aren’t being allowed to do so,” he said.
Dee is holding out hope for 2021 — if she can make it that long.
“I am just hoping to make it until January,” Dee said. “I ask everyone in this city to do their jobs, so we can go back to doing ours.”
Metro Council Member Emily Benedict says part of the problem lies with the mask mandate not being enforced, which is spreading the virus, and forcing bars to remain closed.
“No one has had the courage to stand up to the irresponsible bar owners to tell them they are putting people in harm’s way,” she said.
Emily also is pushing for visitors to Nashville being forced to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“You can’t come to this city and spread the virus,” she said. “If you want to come to Nashville it is not for a party. We can’t allow you to put Nashvillians at risk.”
