ST. LOUIS — The new mask mandate in St. Louis has some restaurant owners breathing a sigh of relief.
"We just felt like either direction you might be making someone mad,” said Brad Merten, owner of Narwhal’s Crafted.
Narwhal’s reopened its Midtown location for indoor seating Wednesday, but not before discussion and a decision to require masks.
"Masks have kind of become a political debate. Do you need to wear them? Should you wear them? And our stance is that we felt like it was the safest thing for our guests and our staff,” he said.
Merten was relieved when the city backed him up with its announcement of the mask mandate.
“To have it mandated now at least keeps it more of a level playing field and less of a business decision,” he said.
Ask other restaurant owners how their own, individual mask requirements have been going and you'll get different answers.
“A lot of people are just, they don't care,” said Andy Karandzieff, owner of Crown Candy Kitchen. “Most people just blow right by those signs with no regard for them,” he said.
It’s a different story at Pi Pizza.
“Our guests are pretty cool. And, you know, I think they realized that it's a treat to be able to eat out right now and they want to be able to continue doing it,” owner Chris Sommers said.
All three owners say they're on board with the new city- and county-wide rule.
“I think it will help because there's a little more weight behind it now,” Karandzieff said.
He later tweeted the repercussions for not wearing a mask could be devastating.
"If an employee or another customer tests positive we are shut down and that is very bad for our survival,” he wrote.
“I just hope that if people are vigilant about it, that we can, in fact, beat it,” Sommers said.
Narwhal's said its St. Charles location will also require customers to wear masks, even though there won't be a county-wide mandate there.
“It's what we gotta do to keep people safe,” Merten said.
