This story will be updated.
Restaurants, coffee shops, bakeries and other food establishments around Dallas were buzzy but relaxed Wednesday as the statewide mask mandate and other COVID-19 restrictions were officially lifted. Wednesday was also the first anniversary of Dallas County’s first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 8,300 people in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
While the state no longer requires face coverings, social distancing or capacity limits to combat spread of the virus, many establishments have decided to stick with safety guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control as the vaccination phase continues. And they have the legal right to implement their own rules. Many restaurants, bars and grocery stores are still requiring masks of employees and customers, and they can refuse service to those who don’t follow the rules.
Across Dallas, from Oak Cliff to East Dallas and Highland Park, Wednesday seemed pandemic-business as usual, with most people masked and keeping a respectful distance.
At Royal Blue Grocery in Highland Park Village, employees and customers indoors were wearing masks during breakfast, but many customers outdoors on the patio, where tables were still spaced out, were not. At Shug’s Bagels, a popular new bagel spot, 100% of people — customers and workers — were wearing masks during breakfast hours, and the store still has up a sign saying masks are required.
In East Dallas, Jimmy’s Food Store, which still requires masks, was humming along with masked employees and customers. When asked if there were any customers trying to enter without a mask on, owner Paul DiCarlo said: “They’ll be outside. And I’ll tell them to go back to high school.”
In the Bishop Arts district, restaurants still displayed signs on their doors and windows indicating that masks are required, with the occasional sign saying masks are simply encouraged.
At Hunky’s, at least nine different mask requirement signs were posted throughout the restaurant, including a new one at the entrance that said: “Welcome - We still care!! Please wear your mask properly while inside until you sit to eat ... Thank you for helping keep our employees and customers safe!!!”
Employees at the Davis Street Gloria’s Latin Cuisine, a popular chain known for its margaritas and brunch, said employees are required to wear masks, but they are not enforcing them for customers, and the dining room is now open at 100% capacity.
Down the street, Dustin Norris, a manager at Oddfellows, said nothing has changed about their operations. The dining room will remain at 75% occupancy and masks are still required for all employees and diners. A few customers came in earlier in the day asking if they needed to wear masks, but everyone has been respectful of the mask policy, Norris said.
Across the board, Bishop Arts restaurant staff said they haven’t had any negative encounters with customers regarding masks since the mandate was lifted.
At Eatzi’s markets in Dallas-Fort Worth, signs on the door remind customers they have the right to choose whether they wear a mask. “America was founded on freedom of choice,” the sign reads. “Mask wearing is your choice. God bless America.”
In an interview, Eatzi’s founder Phil Romano says “enough is enough” with the government telling businesses and citizens what to do. ”It’s your choice if you want to wear the mask or if you don’t want to wear the mask,” he says. “I don’t think people should bully other people about what they should or shouldn’t do.”
Romano says he contracted COVID-19 several months ago, and after overcoming a bad cough, he’s still battling some of the long-term effects. Still, he maintains that Gov. Greg Abbott made the right decision by lifting the mask mandate. ”You want to wear a mask, wear a mask. But leave me alone,” he says.
At S&D Oyster Company on McKinney Avenue, owner Herb Story changed the sign on the door Wednesday. It now says “masks are no longer required but are appreciated.” The longtime seafood shop in Uptown will still require its staffers to wear masks. Story says he wants to protect his workers — some who have worked for him for 45 years.
He says of the mask mandate lifting: “It’s gonna make a lot of people happy and it’s gonna make a lot of people unhappy.”
