While Mayor Kate Gallego has made it clear that Phoenix will not be following Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s order for a statewide lifting of mask requirements, mask policies has still been an issue for restaurants in the downtown area as they are figuring out the best method of enforcing mandates of their own.
Businesses in downtown have different policies, with some requiring masks and some that have relaxed certain COVID-19 procedures. The restaurant FEZ, for example, known for its trendiness and serving of Mediterranean food, will be maintaining a mask policy on its premises in addition to other procedures.
Kirk Lubbs, the operations manager of FEZ, said that they had reduced total occupancy to 50% inside and 75% outside. The establishment received complaints throughout the pandemic for mask requirements, especially after the governor’s decision, but Lubbs did not agree with Ducey’s decision.
“We felt it was premature of the governor to open things up,” Lubbs said.
Lubbs added that most guests were happy that masks were still being enforced. He speculated that they would have lost more customers by not doing so.
In addition to FEZ, noodle restaurant Sosoba is also planning to keep its mask mandate “for the foreseeable future,” according to an employee working there. A similar note was echoed by Ziggy’s Magic Pizza Shop.
Restaurants have the power to require masks in their locations or not, but health officials still recommend that masks should be worn even when not entering businesses.
Dr. Anita Murcko, founder of Cambiare, LLC, and chief medical officer for the Health Services Advisory Group, has 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. She explained that people should still be wearing masks at this time, especially in restaurants.
“It’s a two-way street, we should not expect the restaurants to be enforcers. They may remind us that they’re there to provide service and good food. We need to do our part as consumers in this environment,” Murcko said.
Lubbs mentioned how most of his customers observed his store’s policy and wore masks. While issues had to be addressed, they were not the norm.
When asked about whether or not his store would lift any mandates if government legislation on the cityside loosened, he held firm that it would be up to how the situation is at that point.
“We want to make sure that numbers are dropping and people get more vaccines. We just don’t know until we take it month by month,” Lubbs said.
Dr. Murcko stressed the importance of potential surges cropping up if people do not continue to wear a mask.
“If we could hold on for another three or four months, that would be great,” she said.
Contact the reporter at jcsande6@asu.edu.
