By Emily Scarvie
(PORTLAND, Ore.) After mask guidance at the federal level changed last week, and with the busy summer season looming, bar owners in Portland are asking Gov. Kate Brown to rethink restrictions like capacity and curfew, KATU reports.
“Right now, we still have limits on the amount of people per table and we still require all our staff to wear masks and we’ll probably do that for the foreseeable future,” Ramzy Hattar, owner of River Pig Saloon, said.
Hattar said that most revenue is made after 9 p.m. The city curfew for bars and restaurants is currently 11 p.m.
“Even if curfews were gone right now, I don’t think we could find enough employees to staff it. So, there’s a multitude of things that this city is struggling with right now,” Hattar said.
Dan Lenzen, the co-owner of Dixie Tavern, reached out to the state this week to advocate for extending the curfew.
“The reason that we had masking in place was to minimize the spread,” Lenzen said. “If we’re removing the mask for vaccinated people, it seems that we’ve removed the reason for limited capacity and the curfew.”
Lenzen added that he’s optimistic about Portland’s Old Town neighborhood, saying, “Old Town is alive, contrary to what people are saying about being downtown. Old Town has really started to blossom.”
Gov. Brown said the state still has unanswered questions to sort out after new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is asking businesses to follow current guidelines for now. An announcement with more details is expected this week.
Multnomah County is expected to submit an equity plan to enter the “lower risk” category by Friday.