Are Lexington bars, singled out by Beshear, behind the spike in coronavirus cases?
The two Lexington bars singled out Monday by Gov. Andy Beshear for not doing enough to fight the spread of coronavirus say they’ve worked hard on compliance but they need help enforcing the rules.
When Beshear announced that bars across the state would be shutting down again for two weeks and that restaurants would be cut back to 25 percent because of an increase in COVID-19 cases, Avena Kiely, co-owner of Harvey’s Bar, was devastated.
Not just because of the shutdown but because of the photo Beshear showed to justify the move.
It was taken Saturday night outside Harvey’s on Main Street in downtown Lexington.
“We are wholeheartedly supportive of the governor’s policies through these strange times. I can not imagine how difficult it is,” Kiely said. “It crushed us to see our store front on the TV as an example of not complying with the guidelines. We were really trying our best to talk to the customers and have them stay seated and masks on when moving around.”
But trying to maintain constant compliance “is a difficult task,” she said.
The photo Beshear showed appeared to show a crowded sidewalk outside a bar. “People huddled together, acting like this isn’t real, and unfortunately following, I don’t think, a single guideline that we’ve put in place,” Beshear said Monday.
That photo was misleading, she said. The bar only had about 40 patrons all night, including the group of 10 to 12 out front who came in together from a wedding.
Kiely said she reminded them over and over to stay seated, to stay masked, to stay apart. “They were a nice group and would comply but then stand up and we have to go back and ask them again,” she said.
She produced her own photos taken that night that show patrons spread out, inside and outside.
Going forward, she said Tuesday that they may not try to reopen after the shutdown because she doesn’t want to put anyone in jeopardy.
“On the one hand we want to defend our business and explain that one picture does not tell the whole story,” Kiely said, “but we do not want to pretend that rules were not broken and that in any way we disagree with the governor’s decision and what’s in the state’s best interest.”
Lexington bar owner Aimee Lanza also said she was also surprised to see Centro featured in photos as an example of why the new restrictions were put in place.
“We were sent some pictures from downtown Lexington, from Saturday night,” Beshear said Monday. “Hundreds of people, way closer than six feet, not a mask in this picture at all.”
The crowd he was pointing to was outside her bar.
Beshear blamed individuals, bar owners and a lack of enforcement.
But Lanza said Tuesday that Centro “has always been in compliance with the governor’s requirements,” and has even gone beyond what has been mandated.
“We instituted mask-wearing policy on June 10, for all indoors guests. And we’ve never allowed anyone to be inside since reopening, except to place drink orders or use the restrooms,” she said. “And 80 percent of the people who come there come because they feel safe and that we do care.”
They also have “doormen” who help enforce their mask policy, she said. They will be asked to do even more now.
“Each patron will have to maintain their seat, or they will not be allowed to be a patron,” Lanza said.
Like Kiely, Lanza agreed with Beshear on the difficulty in enforcing the rules.
“I support what Gov. Beshear’s doing. If people don’t want to stay in their seats, they will have to leave,” Lanza said. “But it’s going to be really hard to deal with for my folks. To have little or no backup to enforce these policies does make it difficult.”
Beshear indicated that more enforcement actions may be coming. The new restrictions on bars and restaurants, Beshear said, were based on recommendations by the White House’s coronavirus task force.
The governor said that bars that serve food will have to “look exactly like restaurants,” with all patrons seated and not mingling with other parties.
The owner of another restaurant/bar that has been shown on social media, ELIXIR, said that despite the videos circulating, his place also has been compliant.
“I can 100 percent assure you we were below 50 percent capacity, required masks, provided free masks to anyone who did not have a mask and turned away people who wouldn’t wear masks,” said Stephen Scaldaferri, owner of ELIXIR.
He said that the video shows people dancing inside but that most of the patrons were seated and wearing masks when they weren’t eating or drinking.
“I think there is a major misconception out there that because you’re outside you’re safe,” Scaldaferri said. That leads people to not follow guidelines that they would indoors, he said.
Health Department likely to visit bars
Dr. Kraig Humbaugh, Lexington Commissioner of Health, said that the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department’s process “is totally complaint-driven.”
Once the department receives a complaint about an establishment, they try to visit within the same day, he said. When complaints are verified, he said, “The inspectors try to talk with (the establishment) about what needs to be done, educate the business owner.”
He said they likely will be visiting the bars in the photos.
Other bars in Lexington also are taking steps to deal with the new restrictions.
Seth Brewer, co-owner of several bars in Lexington including Al’s Bar and Best Friend Bar, as well as Wine + Market, a deli and store, was blunt: “We blew it.”
“The optics created by one business can affect an entire industry … there were a number of images the governor showed and that’s what he’s responding to. He doesn’t see images of people respecting his orders ... We in Lexington, we gave him the ammo. He did the right thing, we gave him cause to be concerned. We needed to be more responsible and we didn’t,” Brewer said Tuesday. “A lot people want to pretend things are normal. That creates an unsafe environment. We really need some rules and some enforcement. Without any teeth these state mandates are relying on the team spirit of people. And not everyone feels the same way.”
Daniel Marlowe, owner of Whiskey Bear at The Summit at Fritz Farm, said that his bar has added added cocktails to go to the menu, which he hopes will help see his business through the two-week shutdown.
“We’re going to have adapt our businesses accordingly. Until there’s a vaccine and effective treatment, going to have to stay flexible and make necessary changes when circumstances call for that,” Marlowe said. “Certainly the responsibility is to do everything in their power to keep people safe and healthy but personal responsibility as well. ... Clearly there are people who are paying no mind to the requirements for businesses to be open and now all the rest of us are suffering for it.”
