Many Columbus restaurant owners pushing to lift mask mandate
With COVID-19 cases on the decline for the first time in months, and with many Columbus area school districts (including Columbus city schools) dropping their own mask rules, many Columbus business owners have begun advocating for an end to the city’s mask mandate.
Wolf’s Ridge co-owner Bob Szuter believes lifting the mask mandate will provide a much-needed boost for local businesses.
“It finally feels like the world in general is moving on a little bit, that’s a good thing, it feels like a lifting of the mandate would be a positive thing for us, and for a lot of restaurants,” he said. “It would not only take the impetus off of us to follow a lot of strict rules, it would also just signal a shift in where we are right now.”
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Szuter said Wolf’s Ridge has been thorough in following all of the state-regulated policies regarding COVID-19. In an attempt to keep staff members and customers safe, the Columbus company was one of the first to mandate employee vaccinations last year.
The Wolf’s Ridge co-owner also expressed frustration with the current lack of enforcement he has noticed regarding state policies, a frustration that has been magnified by the fact that Wolf’s Ridge has opted for extra safety precautions.
“I’m a little surprised [a lift of the mask mandate] hasn’t come yet, because you see it whether you’re going out to eat, or to the major retail shops around the city, there is absolutely no enforcement,” he said. “It’s frustrating, we feel like we’re being told we have to do these things but there’s little to no support for our employees on that end.”
Szuter, who also owns the newly-opened sister brewery to Wolf’s Ridge, Understory, said the mask mandate at this juncture also creates much more complexity for businesses like Understory that are trying to find their footing in a crowded field.
If you like this, read: Here’s why this mask mandate is more complicated than previous ones for Columbus restaurants
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