Wear a Mask If You Want Restaurants to Survive

The Illinois Restaurant Association jumpstarts aggressive social media campaign to get patrons, industry to take the coronavirus serious.

I’m Chicago based and Chicago bred, and though I was born in Memphis, I’ve lived here since I was almost one. So when it comes to all things Windy City, I take matters very serious. I want us to win at all costs.

I’ve watched with much apprehension the past few weeks as other states shut down restaurants and bars because—and I am going to be very blunt here—people are selfish. There’s no other way around it. I’ve been interviewing restaurateurs, chefs, bartenders, servers, managers and others who work in the industry and they’re frustrated as hell with the way people have been acting.

Just a sampling: One Chicago chef told me how a guest, who was picking up a to-go order, didn’t have on a mask, and when asked, he got belligerent. Another situation, in Los Angeles, had a group of women on the patio refusing to wear their masks as they went to the bathroom because “they didn’t want to ruin their makeup.” At Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn., hot spots, industry insiders said patrons have been confrontational when confronted about the refusal to wear masks—even when they’ve been offered to them complimentary.

It feels like people are ignoring the fact that a second wave of this thing is coming, and everything EVERYWHERE could be shut down at a moment’s notice. And think about it: Many of these restaurants are already operating on a prayer, so one more full-on shutdown may permanently close them. Then so-called foodies will have no place to go.

That’s why Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, sent out an aggressive, social media PSA earlier this week to remind people to wear masks when patronizing restaurants. It was well circulated throughout the Illinois restaurant community. It came on the heels of the City of Chicago’s threats of exorbitant fines and closures for dining and drinking establishments. People shouldn’t have to be told again and again like children, yet here we are.

And another thing: I’ve witnessed restaurant staffers improperly wearing their masks on several occasions. Servers have been on point when it comes to wearing them, however, there have been managers and chefs half wearing their masks as they visited guests’ tables.

This must end now. If you need a break from the mask, head to a bathroom stall or outdoors distanced from others.

My hope is that Chicago’s aggressive stance is successful enough to keep restaurants open, and it will become a model for the rest of the country to follow.