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Businesses face choice on requiring masks
Ken Suarez reports
LAKELAND, Fla. - For months, Lakeland residents and visitors have been required to wear a mask in public places.
Not anymore.
Lakeland just dropped its mask mandate after the governor decided local governments can’t impose fines for refusing to wear a face covering.
Essentially, that made mask mandates unenforceable, putting businesses in a precarious position. They now have to decide whether to require customers to mask up.
“We’re going to wear masks to protect our customers -- and our staff for that matter -- and encourage our guests to wear them, but they’re not going to send someone away if they’re not,” said Tim Calhoon, of Fresco’s Southern Kitchen and Bar.
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A few doors down from Fresco’s, Taco Bus is taking the same approach.
“I can ask my customers to wear their masks but when I do that, they say they don’t have to, which causes a lot of problems,” Adam Shalaby, the owner, told FOX 13.
So Shalaby says he doesn’t push the issue.
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For good reason. Like other restaurant owners, he can’t take the chance of possibly losing a customer when business has been so slow for so long because of the pandemic.
At many Lakeland establishments, it is largely up to customers to make their own call, at least for now.
The mayor says the city could re-instate the mask requirement.
“It is certainly not off the table if the positivity rates rise,” Mayor Bill Mutz said.
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