FORT WORTH, Texas — Bars, breweries and entertainment venues like comedy clubs are giving people options as mask guidelines were relaxed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for fully vaccinated people.
Tony Formby, who owns Acre Distilling in Downtown Ft. Worth, said his distillery has been operating with a mask requirement, without bar stools, tables that are socially distant and a rearranged tasting room since reopening a few months ago.
"We closed last March, and we didn't open again until September," Tony Formby said.
On Friday, the day after the CDC changed its mask guidance for full vaccinated Americans, a big step toward getting back to normal.
"We're not going to require people to wear masks," Formby said.
Formby said masks will be encouraged in the distillery, but not required.
"When the CDC said that people who have been vaccinated don’t need to wear a mask, it kind of put is in a grey area," Formby said. “Our staff will continue to wear masks. We’ll still have the sneeze guards up, if you want to call them that, in front of the bartenders."
The grey area is not being able to tell if someone's been vaccinated and uncertainty about his ability to legally ask his customers. However, he said he's encouraged by the number of North Texans getting vaccinated.
"Most of the people that come in that I’ve talked to, cause I talk to a lot of the customers, have been vaccinated,” Formby said. "I hope that's the case. We certainly recommend it."
On Saturday afternoon, the distillery will hold its Spring Harvest Bash from 3 p.m. until 8 p.m.
"It’s in honor of all of our farmers up in the Texas Panhandle who are growing all of our grains for our bourbon, for our single malt whiskey and our rye," Formby said.
It's the first event the distillery will host outdoors since the pandemic started, and it is in collaboration with a number of local musicians, breweries and restaurants.
"The CDC ruling, it’s helpful," Formby said. "It makes me feel a little better about attracting a large crowd.”
This weekend, Four Day Weekend Comedy Club, will re-open for in-person shows for the first time since the club posted it was classing last March on its Instagram page. The comedy club was hosting socially distant, virtual shows on Facebook during the pandemic.
Almost exactly a year ago, on May 13, 2020, the Forth Worth Symphony Orchestra announced its 2020 Concerts in the Garden season was canceled. While the group decided not to have a full 2021 season, it is selling tickets for a socially distant 4th of July concert.
As more people get vaccinated, restrictions ease and life inches back toward normal, Formby said he's looking forward to more community gatherings.
“We started to see a resurgence, but it’s going to take some time," Formby said.
