FORT WORTH — Fort Worth Crockett Food Hall general manager Givenchy Salmeron says he believes there are both benefits and disadvantages to Gov. Greg Abbott lifting the state COVID-19 restrictions.
On one side he thinks revenue could increase with more people being allowed to dine in.
“Us as restaurants, we can always get something good from it because I think more people are going to want to go out,” says Salmeron.
However, Salmeron is also thinking about customers who may not be ready to return to being in public spaces without safety measures in place.
For nearly a year, Texas had safety measures set in place to protect people from COVID-19, such as wearing masks and limiting business occupancy.
“I also see people being concerned of just walking around in a busy establishment and people not having a mask on,” he continues.
Businesses like Crockett Food Hall are left with the responsibility of choosing and enforcing any restrictions they want to place to protect their patrons.
Crockett Food Hall will be doing its best to accommodate both customers who agree with the mask mandate drop and 100% occupancy return, as well as those who do not support it.
“As far as the sanitation stations and the staff being in the kitchen wearing masks, I think we’re going to continue to enforce that, just because it gives customers that peace of mind,” says Salmeron.
Tarrant County Glen Judge Whitley was concerned ahead of the announcement made by Gov. Abbott on Tuesday, saying that he preferred to continue with restrictions until the county had higher vaccination numbers or at least until after spring break.
“I would prefer that if he’s going to lift the mask mandate that he’d do it after spring break as opposed to before, but the governor is the governor and he has the right to do whatever he wants to do,” says Whitley.
He also shared that loosening preventive measures may result in COVID-19 case spikes and be a setback on the efforts that have helped decrease the virus spread.
For now, counties will not have the power to place any COVID-19 safety restrictions or penalize individuals for not wearing masks, unless hospitalizations increase above 15% in the region for seven consecutive days.
If it did become necessary, businesses like Crockett Food Hall would be willing and ready to make the required changes to keep customers safe.
"I see the need of things going back to normal, but I also see the need of taking a lot of precautions,” assures Salmeron.
He added that after all, the economy is important, but staying healthy is essential to keep it going.