Ahead of a summer holiday weekend that, in normal times, would mean packed patios and crowded bars, restaurant and bar owners are facing fines of up to $10,000 if COVID-19 restrictions are flouted.
It’s a tough line to toe for businesses just barely scraping by after nearly three months of being closed due to the pandemic. In Pilsen, La Vaca Margarita Bar has been open for outdoor dining for a few weeks, converting its parking lot into a patio with tables spaced 6 feet apart.
One Monday night, a few customers reveling in the newfound freedom got up to dance.
“We had to cut the music off and tell them to please be seated and to please respect other customers and staff as well,” La Vaca owner Ivan Gutierrez said.
He’s planning for a July Fourth weekend full of such challenges.
As infection rates surge in southern and western states, Chicago officials warned bar and restaurant owners Thursday that failing to have customers adhere to social distancing guidelines could result in their industry being shut down again, just as it was for two-and-a-half months this spring.
City officials have vowed to patrol restaurants and bars, keeping tabs on safe distancing. Investigators from the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection have been empowered “to immediately close businesses in cases of egregious violation of the phase four guidelines,” the city said. Fines could be as much as $10,000.
To help comply, Gutierrez said, he has set up a public address system to remind customers about appropriate behavior via loudspeaker as needed. Security staff are to direct people to keep moving if crowding occurs on sidewalks as customers wait to enter.
“I know it’s going to be a tough weekend,” Gutierrez said. “We heard that the city is cracking down on bars and restaurants and there are $10,000 fines, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid.”
But doing so could prove a challenge, as throngs of people eager for social interaction flock to popular Chicago corridors.
In recent weeks, some bars in neighborhoods like Wrigleyville have struggled to rein in swarms of unmasked drinkers, many of whom appear to do conspicuously little to socially distance themselves during the ongoing pandemic.
Lakeview Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, declined to comment on the situation.
Following last weekend’s well-publicized crowds, the Lakeview neighborhood’s Clark Street corridor was tame Thursday afternoon. Small handfuls of friends occupied larger tables at Happy Camper and patio cabanas at Deuce’s and Diamonds.
Managers from both bars said city officials contacted the establishments ahead of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s remarks about stricter enforcement, and they said they were confident their measures would be in compliance.
Tables at both establishments were noticeably distanced from one another, surrounded by prominent signage alerting guests that masks are required. Happy Camper is also limiting parties to two hours per visit.
All staff members were masked on Thursday. Most guests had removed theirs, which is allowed while seated and eating or drinking under city guidelines.
Kelly Toms, a bartender at Bernie’s Tap & Grill on the corner of Clark Street and Waveland Avenue, said the bar didn’t have as many issues with unwieldy crowds as others farther south on the stretch, but it would still be focusing on strict measures for the weekend.
“We’ll be more diligent about asking people to keep their masks on when coming inside to use the bathroom, and about disinfecting surfaces and pens and other items,” she said.
The city’s crackdown comes the same week Texas closed bars due to a surge in cases, and the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, singled out bars as a danger zone, calling them “really not good, really not good.”
“Congregation at a bar, inside, is bad news,” Fauci told the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Tuesday. “We really have got to stop that.”
On a 45-minute webinar Thursday morning, Lightfoot told bar and restaurant owners that they control their own fates — and those of their businesses — during the holiday weekend.
“They made it very clear that they’re not going to tolerate people pushing the envelope,” said Michael Roper, owner of Hopleaf Bar in Andersonville, who joined the webinar that included a slideshow of social distancing guidelines and photos of Chicago bars that have failed to comply with the rules.
“The places (that are) not being responsible will ruin it for everyone,” he said. “That was the tone.”
Though he couldn’t tell how many people logged on to the webinar, Roper said it didn’t seem particularly well-attended due to a lack of questions. He said he only found out about it Thursday morning in an email from a neighborhood chamber of commerce.
Lightfoot acknowledged warning bar owners on the call, saying the city won’t allow people to congregate in large numbers and would shut down those who don’t keep crowds under control. She called it “a make-or-break weekend” for restaurants and bars.
“Your financial fate is in your hands,” Lightfoot said she told bar owners. “Follow the rules, or you’re going to suffer the consequences.
“I don’t want to have to shut you down, but if you make me, we will,” Lightfoot said.
In a follow-up email to webinar participants, Rosa Escareno, BACP commissioner, reiterated the threat of a $10,000 fine.
“I am asking you all — do not be the reason why our COVID-19 cases spike,” she wrote.
Bars are working under several restrictions from the city: Patrons must be seated; indoor capacity must be limited to 25% or 50 people (whichever is fewer); tables must be spaced 6 feet apart; face coverings must worn by employees and customers (except when seated and eating or drinking); alcohol can’t be served after 11 p.m.; and lines of people must be properly spaced.
To avoid crowding, many restaurants are encouraging customers to make reservations, including Big Star, which typically touts one of the Northwest Side’s most crowded patios.
The taco restaurant is a part of the One Off Hospitality chain, which spokeswoman Heidi Hageman said approaches every day as though it were a busy holiday weekend in terms of its commitment to safety. The policy will continue to be heavily enforced, she said.
Other establishments have taken to social media to demand compliance from patrons and bars alike.
Metropolitan Brewing posted a profanity-tinged statement on social media this week saying that irresponsible behavior from customers and bars “will squander every sacrifice made over the past few months; render all of our painstaking efforts to get back to business safely useless; and frankly, is deeply disrespectful to our industry and to the health of our community.”
The Avondale brewery called for bars operating without safety measures to be reported and cited.
“We care about the life and health of our community above profit — always have,” the brewery wrote. “Always will.”
