RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Bar and Tavern Association (NCBATA) is preparing to meet with the Governor’s office next week to discuss equal treatment for bars to reopen.
NCBATA planned to file a lawsuit Friday, but according to a release, the association was approached by the Governor’s office and Attorney General’s office on May 28 to discuss the situation.
NCBATA represents more than 100 bar owners across the state. The association contends that bars deserve the same treatment under the law as restaurants, breweries, wineries, distilleries, and other businesses that have been permitted to reopen.
According to a release from NCBATA, the association would like to see the data, science, and other information Governor Cooper relied upon to make his decision to keep bars closed.
Anthony Kearey, the owner of several bars and restaurants in Charlotte, said he is able to open his restaurant, 204 North Kitchen & Cocktails, which has a bar inside. However, his bars, The Union and Tilt on Trade, must remain closed.
"You can go to a brewery and order a beer at the bar in a brewery,” Kearey said. “You can go to a restaurant and do the same. You can go to a distillery and do the same, but you can't walk into a bar, and you know, enjoy the exact same level of service, the same social distancing that you could get at anything else that has a bar."
Kearey’s bars are part of the NCBATA, pushing for the right to reopen and for the same treatment as restaurants and other establishments that are allowed to be open.
He was prepared to open all of his properties under the plans originally laid out for Phase 2. The tables and chairs were spaced out, and hand sanitizing stations were added.
Now, his employees may have to wait until at least June 26 to reopen if nothing changes.
"My staff want to work,” Kearey said. “They want to do the right thing. They've always done the right thing. They're eager to do it. They feel slighted."
Scorpio, a nightclub in Charlotte, has also joined the NCBATA efforts.
The nightclub has been closed since March 15 and is eager to be given the chance to prove it can reopen safely.
"Anytime you shut down a business two or three months that are in a service industry it's difficult,” said Michael Sharpton, general manager of Scorpio.
Sharpton said Scorpio followed all the guidelines and protocols set out by the CDC and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to be able to reopen under Phase 2, but it was not allowed the opportunity to put those plans into action.
“The data, the science doesn't support it being safe to have a drink in a brewery, have a drink in a distillery, or in a restaurant bar,” Sharpton said, “and it be unsafe in a bar or nightclub."
Sharpton said he believes bars should have the same rights to reopen as other establishments, considering restaurants with bars are allowed to operate.
“It's been extremely frustrating that you see… restaurants that have bars in them, they open, they close the kitchen at 10, but bars remains open till 2 a.m.,” Sharpton said. “So between 10 and 2, they're essentially a bar."
Governor Cooper defended his decision to open restaurants but not bars during a news conference Thursday.
"We didn't want to go and open everything back up for concern of numbers going up in a quick way,” Cooper said Thursday. “This is why bars were closed."
