Several Lexington businesses reported for not fully complying with KY mask mandate
Some Lexington businesses already have been reported to local authorities for allegedly being too lax with customers or employees who do not wear masks as required in Kentucky to help prevent the spread of coronavirus.
But several of the companies said they have already made moves to require or strongly encourage mask wearing. Although they can force their workers to put on face coverings, many face the dilemma of what to do about noncompliant patrons, some of whom might wear a mask while entering and then pull it down while inside. Some supervisors say they aren’t shy about telling people to leave.
As of late afternoon Tuesday, the Lexington-Fayette County Health Department had received about 50 complaints from the public about local companies accused of not enforcing Gov. Andy Beshear’s order mandating masks in many businesses. The complaints about employees and customers had been received since the mask rule took effect Friday night, health department spokesman Kevin Hall said.
Beshear’s executive order requires most people over age 5 to wear masks or face coverings in stores, restaurants, bars, salons, health care settings, child care facilities and other public places where it’s hard to maintain 6 feet of distance between people of different households.
The order, intended to slow the spread of COVID-19, will be in effect for at least 30 days, and the local health department and the governor have said that businesses are responsible for making sure that people follow it.
While businesses that repeatedly fail to enforce the rules could be subject to fines, the health department has said it will focus first on education, talking to company representatives about signs, reminding them of rules and guidelines and finding out if there are any roadblocks keeping the business from following the order.
A number of the complaints lodged in the first few days of the mandate have been against grocery and big box retailers, including six Lexington Kroger stores.
The Kroger stores on Tates Creek Road, Richmond Road, Bryan Station Road, Leestown Road, Euclid Avenue, and Hartland Parkway have been reported.
“We support the executive order announced by Governor Beshear and are making every reasonable effort to encourage compliance,” Kroger spokeswoman Erin Grant said in a statement Wednesday.
She said stores “will enforce the order through door signage and in-store radio,” and she said customers who can’t wear a mask because of medical reasons are encouraged to consider face shields or other coverings.
“If they’re unable to wear a mask or an alternative design, we request that they use our ecommerce services like pickup or delivery. To support all households during the COVID-19 pandemic, our grocery pickup service remains free,” she said.
A complaint had also been received about the Walmart on Grey Lag Way in Hamburg, according to the health department.
A Walmart spokesman said in an email Tuesday night that the company had posted signs and a “health ambassador” at store entrances to let customers know about the mask requirement.
“We are strongly encouraging all customers to adhere to the decisions made by local officials regarding the use of protective facial coverings,” the statement said in part. “Store management is working with local law enforcement to understand how to best partner with them on any concerns that arise as a result of the local/state face covering mandate.”
Kroger and Walmart announced Wednesday that they would require masks on customers in all stories regardless of whether the move has been ordered by government officials. Walmart’s mask rule starts Monday while Kroger’s requirement takes effect in a week, according to the companies or multiple reports.
The health department had also received a complaint about Lexington’s Costco location. Costco independently began requiring shoppers to wear facial coverings in stores nationwide on May 4.
“Overall, it’s been well received,” said Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti. “...There’s always going to be some exceptions to the rule.”
He did not say what happens when customers do not comply with the requirement.
More than a dozen of the businesses on the health department’s list were gas stations and convenience stores, including some Speedways, Thorntons, Shells and Marathons.
A number of restaurants, including a Chipotle, a Red Lobster, a Rallys, a McDonald’s and a Steak & Shake, also had been accused of not properly following the executive order.
Two complaints were received about the Cracker Barrel on Elkhorn Road, off Winchester Road, according to the health department.
“The first couple days, there was a little pushback” to the mask mandate, said General Manager Jerry Dunkley, but overall, he said, “I think it’s going very well.”
He said the restaurant has signs posted on the front door saying masks are required and a hospitality employee stationed outside who welcomes customers and hands out masks to people who don’t have them.
When people balk, he said, “It’s just one of those situations right now that you just have to handle with kid gloves.”
Though someone apparently has complained to the health department about her business, Maria Velasco, who owns The Nutrition Zone, said she wears a mask while working and her customers do too.
“Most of the people grab the stuff and go,” she said. “It’s just not a big crowd.”
Survivors, a karaoke bar on Reynolds Road, was also among the businesses the health department had received a complaint about.
Bartender Jerit “Kaptain” Sheets said the bar has been distributing masks to customers and has signs posted saying that “if you want to come in you have to wear a mask.”
Sheets said that when customers are seated and having a drink, they don’t have to wear a mask. But if they get up to dance or head to the restroom, he said he’s not shy about issuing a friendly reminder to put the mask over their nose and mouth.
“We’re all in a new age here. We all have to get on the same page,” Sheets said, adding, “It’s really difficult when people are drinking, maybe forget or not want to. I’m like, ‘Hey guys, you gotta pull it up.’ The big thing is people moving around and forgetting.”
He said he hasn’t had anyone refuse to wear a mask, but if they did, Sheets said he’d “politely ask them to leave.”
“It’s not about the business tonight,” Sheets said. “It’s about the business in the future and the community.”
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 9:11 AM.
