ST. LOUIS — St. Louis County Business owners have mixed reactions to Tuesday’s Council vote not to issue a mask mandate.
Ted Theodoropoulos, Burn Boot Camp Owner, said the rising hospitalizations are concerning. Mandates and health guidelines only work when applied appropriately.
"We are 100% pro-vaccine, we think being vaccinated is the way out of this,” Theodoropoulos said. “We also think being healthy is an important component. We want to encourage people to engage in healthy activities and it's hard to do cardio in a mask."
He said leaders are being reactive instead of proactive. After the vaccine, the gym owner believes good health is the next best way to protect the community and people won’t want to work out if forced to wear a mask.
In 2020, the gym owner has rallied 40+ boutique gyms trying to come up with solutions that make sense. He’s tried to work with the county on ways to tailor measures for small gyms such as his, but leaders don’t want to come to the table.
At his gym he’s capped capacity, increased cleaning and spread people out, in many cases moved workouts outside. Cathy Jenkin’s owner of Cathy’s Kitchen has also taken matters into her own hands.
"I understand why (the council) said that,” Jenkins said. “We get people that come in here angry that don't want to wear a mask. I designed Cathy’s Kitchen to keep us safe. You can't live your life on what other people do, you need to focus on what you need to do."
She still requires customers to wear masks unless eating or drinking. She’s implemented other health measures around her restaurant to keep customers and staff safe. She hopes other businesses do the same.