Earlier this week, a group of Milwaukee businesses organized to call on Mayor Barrett to make masks mandatory in public places, including restaurants, concert venues and retail. The group, which numbered around 70 businesses, is largely made up of independent service industry and hospitality operations, all of which have been grossly affected by the mandatory pandemic shutdown.
Restaurants and hospitality groups that have signed onto the petition include The Bartolotta Group, Fiserv Forum, Hospitality Democracy, the Lowlands Group, Saz’s, Marcus, Sherman Phoenix, and plenty of one-off restaurants like Odd Duck, Amilinda and Merriment Social. Many have made public statements about the petition, like DanDan, which posted that it is “important to help keep Milwaukee moving FORWARD”on its Facebook page, and the owner of Ardent, Justin Carlisle, stating “we care for the safety of our families, employees and diners.”
In a community where many people are ignoring social distancing practices including mask wearing, a city-wide mandate is the best way to protect hospitality workers. These employees do not have jobs where working from home is a possibility. They are having to choose between putting themselves and their families at risk or refusing to work, which would end any unemployment benefits as well. A mask mandate would better protect employees whose job it is to encounter strangers, many of whom hold an outright disdain for masks and safety measures.
A city-wide mask mandate would also take the onus off business owners to make the choice of requiring customers to wear masks, a move that inevitably gets politicized despite being a simple, common sense health decision. Dealing with a social media storm of bad publicity is the last thing chefs and owners need right now. An even playing field where statements and restaurant-by-restaurant rules are unnecessary gives all businesses the best chance of getting back on their feet.
It would also help prevent hostile in-person situations from developing related to mask-wearing, videos of which have been popping up online.
If customers are already aware that they must wear a mask, they’re more likely to avoid the confrontation altogether. They cannot claim ignorance of a restaurant’s policy when they show up for a reservation. While the staff will still have to enforce the rule, at least they can deflect the blame on to the city if a customer doesn’t like it.
Long term, a mask mandate now would also protect restaurants and employees from more financial hardship in the future. If the ominous second wave of COVID-19 is as bad as the first or worse, restaurants will be shut down for dine-in once again. That's just inevitable. Keeping the entire population as healthy as possible for as long as possible is the best safeguard against another months-long shutdown. Many restaurants won’t be able to survive a second extended shutdown.
Some Openings
Despite everything going on, some new restaurants have opened recently. Smax, a grab-and-go spot designed for downtown office workers, opened in the 770 Jefferson building in the same food court as Shah Jee’s. Options include sandwiches, bowls and wraps, along with sides and desserts for a fast and mostly hands-off meal on the go.
The Crossroads Collective got two new tenants: Mina and Thum. Mina serves up small plates and snacks inspired by Italy and Spain, like orange-marinated olives and bagna cauda ricotta served on toast. Thum is a Lao restaurant with items like papaya salad, Lao-style laab, and charred beef with sticky rice.
Another food hall, Sherman Phoenix, also got a new tenant: Rise & Grind Cafe. This is the second location of the cafe located near MLK Drive and Center Street. They serve coffee and other specialty beverages, breakfast, brunch and sandwiches.
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