A Dallas-area couple says they have been lately requested by a restaurant to both take off their face masks or depart the institution.
Natalie Wester and Jose Lopez mentioned they have been assembly pals at Hold Time Sports activities Grill & Bar in Rowlett on the evening of Sept. 10 and that after putting an order for drinks and an appetizer their waitress mentioned they wanted to take away their face masks or depart.
“Earlier than the appetizer might even come out, our waitress got here and sat down subsequent to me. And she or he said that you’re going to must take your masks off if you wish to be right here. That is political, and our proprietor despatched me over right here as a result of I am nicer than he’s, however we do not enable masks within the bar,” Wester mentioned.
Wester mentioned the waitress then tried to inform them the masks do not work and that they have been as efficient as utilizing a chainlink fence to cease mosquitoes.
The couple let the waitress know they have been sporting masks as a result of they’d a son at residence, 4-year-old Austin, who has cystic fibrosis and is extra weak to an infection. The couple informed NBC 5 they’d been suggested by Austin’s medical doctors to not reside in a bubble, however to take precautions to forestall the flu, colds, RSV, and COVID-19 by being vaccinated and by sporting a masks when out in public.
NBC 5 Information Jose Lopez, left, and Natalie Wester, proper, mentioned they have been informed to take away their masks or depart a neighborhood restaurant.
Lopez mentioned the waitress did not appear to care about their motivation for sporting a masks and left them with two choices: she might cancel their meals order and shut their tab or they might take off their masks and keep.
“I undoubtedly suppose the proprietor was simply making an attempt to make a degree,” Wester mentioned. “I feel that he felt, maybe, suppressed as a result of he was informed he needed to put on a masks and was rebelling in opposition to that by not permitting anyone to put on a masks. I do not suppose that it made a complete lot of sense and wasn’t a hospitable factor to do in your clients.”
The couple added that there have been no indicators warning clients that masks weren’t allowed and that they weren’t informed concerning the restaurant’s coverage till after they’d positioned an order.
Hoping to save lots of others a while, Wester mentioned she shared a put up on social media warning others in a neighborhood Rowlett group that the restaurant was not welcoming to folks sporting face masks.
NBC 5 reached out to Hold Time however has not acquired a response. The restaurant proprietor, Tom Blackmer, told The Dallas Morning News that he made the choice to not enable masks inside in April and that individuals who do not agree can go some other place.
The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention recommends anybody over the age of two put on a masks when indoors, even those that are vaccinated, in areas of excessive transmission.
