Jessica Worden is the lead bartender/manager at Taroko in Grants Pass.
She will speak to the demeanor of customers after two days of mandated mask-wearing, as well as talk about what steps they are doing to help people cope, including some reusable face shields that can be sanitized between customer use.
Today, Governor Kate Brown announced stepped up enforcement statewide on face covering, physical distancing, and occupancy standards in place for businesses.
The effort, led by Oregon Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) and the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), will ensure restaurants, bars, and other businesses comply with COVID-related rules over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and thereafter.
For them.
The legislation also requires firefighters to be tested for the virus before starting work this fire season.
Today is the third day.
People have been required to wear masks inside public places.
And we want to see how people are reacting to this new requirement.
Jessica warden from toronto asian topless bar, and grant's pass joins us now.
Thanks for being with us, chris.
Thank you for having me.
So what has the reaction of your customers been to the new requirement?
It's definitely been a mixed bag.
Um, a lot of my.
My regular customers have been fully supportive of, um, ensuring the safety of those around them and the safety of our, uh, employees.
And then i've experienced an influx of new customers who am super familiar with who have, um, been aggressive to say the least, um, people who.
They have decided that the mass law simply shouldn't apply to them.
And it's been kind of frustrating and disheartening.
So what do you want you are staff and what do you do in that situation?
Um, deescalate is always, um, we are currently in the process because the, the new law was kind of thrust upon us and we didn't.
Realize how prepared we would have to be so, so quickly.
So we're in the process of procuring, um, face shields to offer to people who don't, i want to wear masks.
Um, and until, yeah, those face shields arrive, we will have, um, outdoor seating available, limited outdoor seating available.
Um, and for now, that's really all we can do.
Um, you said you had pretty good luck with your regular customers.
How challenging has it been leading up to this point and is the mass requirement making your tough job even tougher?
Um, we just keep trying to reiterate to people as they're coming in, or if they call ahead to reserve a table, what the new requirements are and we ask for their cooperation, um, and.
A lot of our customers have been fully understanding and easy to, to, to handle.
So what about your staff members?
Are they concerned about their contact with folks coming in and out?
Even if those folks are complying with the mask rule, being in the service industry is always, um, kind of reckless for, for health.
Uh, there's a lot of contact with people's, um, like saliva and.
And such, um, used utensils and plates.
Um, so we've all sense long before this, this mandate has gone into effect.
We've all been concerned and worried for our own health.
Most of my cooks are elderly, so they're in a, in a higher risk group.
Um, but we're doing everything that we can to make sure that we sanitize and sanitize and sanitize and follow protocol and, you know, just doing what we can to take care of ourselves while still providing the same service we always have.
Well, i guess that's my next question is the way that you have to do business now, given the restrictions, not only on distancing, but the masks, is that a legitimate longterm model for your business?
Can you survive doing what you need to do to stay healthy and same business at the same time?
I think so.
I think we kind of nice sweet spot between, um, the way things used to be and being.
In full compliance with, with the new health protocols, um, business has been steady and yeah, busy as it ever was even a pre quarantine.
So that's really encouraging.
And so far we haven't had any illnesses or, you know, cases of employees getting sick or overwhelmed.
Um, unless, of course we had the hostile.
Yes.
Well, let's hope you have more of the, uh, healthy customers and fewer of the
