CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (KWWL) — After weeks of lost business, bars in 4 Iowa counties reopened early Wednesday evening.
Governor Kim Reynolds defending her decision to open bars amid fears that cases will just spike again.
“We’ll work with the businesses, and so they know what the rules are they know what the expectations are, then they can make a decision and if they decide not to be a part of the solution there are consequences,” Reynolds said.
“We’ve been having conversations with the university administration and with the City of Cedar Falls. We also, our organization, kind of really pushed for the mask mandate,” said Kathryn Sogard, the executive director of the College Hill Partnership.
The organization worked with affected businesses during their shutdown, helping them develop the best practices to keep patrons safe.
Sogard says it goes beyond the businesses’ profits though.
“It’s not just the economic health of that business but you know all of the employees that they employ and the whole community as well,” Sogard said.
Along Main Street in Cedar Falls, Double Tap has becomes one of the latest fixtures. The barcade plans to follow all the normal cleaning and safety protocols plus checking their staff’s temperatures every day.
“We’re logging all the temperatures, just making sure that everybody’s coming to work safe and if anybody is feeling ill in any way, shape, or form we do not allow them to start their shift. They go home and then come back when they’re cleared to come back to work,” said Greta Nevius, Double Tap’s manager.
Many of the places reopening will put a cap on the number of people they allow inside. Nevius says it will be a challenge to offer good customer service while keeping people healthy. They hope that patrons will be understanding if they’re not allowed in.
