A draft of a county memo outlining safety guidelines for restaurants reopening next week has led to confusion among some bar owners about whether they can also reopen on Monday.
Gov. Doug Ducey also muddied the waters, some say, when he included sports bars that serve food among those eligible to reopen May 11.
“There’s so many variables these days, a ton of wrong answers and not many clear ‘right’ ones,” said Sean Humphrey, who owns John Henry’s bar at 117 N. Sixth Ave. “Restaurants are our siblings in this world. We want the same choices and opportunities, nothing more or less.”
The memo Tuesday from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry was addressed to members of the county’s Restaurant and Bar Subcommittee of the Pima County Back to Business Taskforce, a group of 25 business leaders including restaurant operators. Humphrey, the lone bar owner on the committee, shared the document with fellow bar owners to keep them informed.
Huckelberry in the memo included bars in his introduction, saying that Ducey “is authorizing the reopening of restaurants and bars as of May 11, 2020.”
Francisco Garcia, the deputy county administrator and county’s chief medical officer, said the memo was not meant as a green light for bars to reopen.
“Just to be clear, we started this process before the governor had said anything,” Garcia, who staffed the advisory committee, said on Wednesday.
Huckelberry’s memo was meant as a planning tool for the eventual reopening of both restaurants and bars, Garcia said.
“Many bars also serve food, and we thought that the guidance we were providing and developing … was important to share,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that bars per se will be operating in the same way.”
Ducey on Monday announced that restaurants can reopen their dining rooms with some restrictions, including limiting the number of diners. The governor during a press conference in Phoenix made clear that bars were not part of the immediate plan, with the exception of those that also serve food such as sports bars.
Which has led to some of the confusion, Humphrey said.
“This is where we are getting conflicting issues. How can a restaurant with a bar inside it be safer?” he said.
“The issue is bar seating,” Garcia said. “There is no way to social distance from the bartender to the customer sitting at the bar. That is specifically why I believe they were not included. The distance between the face of the bartender and the customer at the bar can only be increased so much.”
Garcia added that “at some point I do think the governor will lift that restriction, and we want to foster some creative ideas.”
The Royal Room at 450 N. Sixth Ave., has a small kitchen and serves a limited menu of sandwiches, pasta salad, chips and snacks. That qualifies the neighborhood bar as a restaurant under Ducey’s order.
But owner Ian Stupar said he’s in no rush to capitalize on the loophole. He plans to wait and see how other similar bars do before reopening.
“We’re kind of hoping for a little more parameters,” he said. “I think with all of this, we’re already seeing people not wearing masks and not maintaining proper social distancing. … We just kind of want to wait and see what is going to be appropriate and what is going to be the right thing to do.”
Ducey’s order listed guidelines including limiting parties to no more than 10, reducing dining room occupancies and encouraging restaurant staff members to wear masks.
The county task force takes those recommendations a bit further, requiring servers wear cloth masks, limiting capacity to 50% , eliminating self-serve stations for condiments and food and implementing touchless payment methods.
Humphrey said he has no plans to reopen until “we have a green positive light to start with.”
“I am not going to break the law,” he said, adding that he wants to see bars have the same consideration as restaurants “so that we are all on the same playing field.”
Photos for April 23: Tucson gets by during Coronavirus Pandemic
Tucson, coronavirus
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Erika Munoz, owner of Seis Kitchen, hands over a bag of meals to Michael Gallagher Carondelet, a registered nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital, to distribute to other nurses and hospital workers, on April 23, 2020. The donation was made in conjunction with A+C (Athletes/Artists+Causes) Foundation's “Project Frontline.” In two deliveries, 400 meals (200 poc chuck chicken and 200 puerco verde burritos) will be given to medical personnel at Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital. The particular donation was made possible by the Houston Astros' Pitching Coach Brent Strom, who lives in Tucson.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Hospital workers wheel in carts full of catered meals donated by Seis Kitchen to Carondelet St. Joseph's Hospital, on April 23, 2020. The donation was made in conjunction with A+C (Athletes/Artists+Causes) Foundation's “Project Frontline.” In two deliveries, 400 meals (200 poc chuck chicken and 200 puerco verde burritos) will be given to medical personnel at Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital. The particular donation was made possible by the Houston Astros' Pitching Coach Brent Strom, who lives in Tucson.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Kristi Hall, a sixth grade teacher at Desert Sky Middle School, participates in planning a lesson with a fellow teacher on Zoom, at her home on April 17, 2020. Schools in the Vail School District are supposed to open in July due to their year-round school calendar. Plans are being made for the possibility of students returning to the physical classroom.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Bry Kelley, a warehouse assistant, places a pallet filled with food down next to other items donated to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on on April 21, 2020. Forty-one thousand pounds of flour, pasta and canned goods were donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The donation is part of an ongoing global effort by the church to address immediate needs of people and orgainzations due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
A pallet of food is placed down next to other items donated to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on on April 21, 2020. Forty-one thousand pounds of flour, pasta and canned goods were donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The donation is part of an ongoing global effort by the church to address immediate needs of people and orgainzations due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, takes the temperature of a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. “This is a vulnerable population in our community; they can’t defend themselves in a society already running short on supplies and resources,” said Bergman. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Lekha Chesnick, 1st year medical student at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, talks with a homeless man (whom choose to not give his name) outside of the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Christian Bergman, 4th year University of Arizona medical student, checks on a patient outside the Z Mansion, 288 N. Church Ave., in Tucson, Ariz., on April 19, 2020. Medical students from the University of Arizona and other universities volunteer to help the homeless population with the growing concerns of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) within the homeless population. “This is a vulnerable population in our community; they can’t defend themselves in a society already running short on supplies and resources,” said Bergman. Medical students and medical personal help by giving out food, drinks with electrolytes and masks to the homeless. Those who are sick, medically impaired or have been exposed to those with COVID-19 are isolated outdoors in tents on the property. As of Sunday April 19, there were 13 individuals whom are isolated in tents.
Tucson, coronavirus
Updated
Elliott Dumont, owner of Roadrunner Bicycles, 6177 E. Broadway Blvd., works on a customer's bike on April 22, 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not slowed down bike shops. With many people at home, they are bringing bicycles for repairs and buying new ones for exercise. Dumont says he's booked out till the first week of May for tuneups on bikes.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Elliot DuMont, owner of Roadrunner Bicycles, 6177 E. Broadway Blvd., far left, helps Ethan Sasz, far right, and his son, Evan, 10, with a mountain bike purchase on April 22, 2020. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has not slowed down bike shops. With many people at home, they are bringing bicycles for repairs and buying new ones for exercise. Dumont says he's booked out till the first week of May for tuneups on bikes.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Marcella Montoya waits in her vehicle as general manger David Kessler brings out her order, as Bear Canyon Pizza serving their customers despite COVID-19 restrictions, April 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Kitchen manger Koa Hoffmann tosses dough while working up a crust for a call-in order as he and few others keep cooking at Bear Canyon Pizza despite COVID-19 restrictions, April 22, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Alvaro Enciso, a local artist, works in one of his studios at his home on April 9, 2020. Every Tuesday Enciso travels into the Sonoran desert to post crosses where migrants have died after crossing illegally over the U.S./Mexico border as part of a project he's titled Donde Mueren Los Suenos / Where Dreams Die. With the outbreak of the coronavirus disease his six year project is on hold and instead he works on other artwork at home.
Tucson, coronavirus
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Dolly Spalding works on a pen and ink drawing in her apartment at the Redondo Tower Apartments on April 7, 2020. During her quarantine, Spalding has been creating drawings of all the Greek goddesses. She is collaborating with Emlyn Boyle, an artist from Ireland, and plans to publish a book with Boyle's writings.
