Open Letter To El Paso Bar Owners Who Won’t Follow COVID Safety Rules

A local news station did a story on a Cincinnati Entertainment District bar owner who is upset because he is having to sit out a 60 day suspension for not following COVID-19 safety rules. Frank Ricci admits that his bar was looking like pre-COVID Cincinnati Entertainment District days, and he has been cited by the City three times since the pandemic began in March. Ricci then goes on to say that "all this is new to everyone" and he doesn't understand why he was slapped with such a huge penalty for apparently flagrantly flouting the rules.

Well, it's probably because you've been cited three times in six months and are all over social media saying you're going to do what you want in connection with the COVID safety rules put in place by the Texas Governor. In an El Paso Times story dated June 26, Ricci said, "My game plan is to close when the government tells me to close. When they tell me to close, we’ll comply. The government telling you to wear a mask, that’s way off base.”

Ricci isn't the only bar owner who isn't following the rules and making it difficult for other bar and restaurant owners to do business. The City has been cracking down on bars that aren't complying with safety rules and issuing suspensions of up to 60 days to various bars and other establishments for non-compliance.

I get it. No one wants to wear a face mask. We all want to go hang out at our favorite bar and get a drink or two, but that's not going to happen unless things change for a while, and unless everyone is on the same page, this is going to take a heckuva lot longer than it should. Bar owners who insist on not following the rules are only hurting themselves and ensuring that the rest of the owners who do follow the rules have to pay for the stupid decisions of others.

And we have to drink on our own patios at home instead of handing over our cash to our favorite bar for an adult beverage. Grow up, bar owners. We're tired of you not following the rules and keeping us at home. Get over yourselves.