DALLAS — With omicron cases on the rise, a Dallas bar made the decision to shut down for the month of January. The owner of Alexandre’s in Oak Lawn says it’s the right move for his bar and the community.
“Bars remain high risk environments,” Alexandre’s owner Lee Daugherty said. “You’ve got 15 to 20 people who are sitting unmasked in front of you and it’s just a matter of time. No matter what we’ve done and what we’ve installed, filters and windows and masks and tests, it’s just not enough.”
In a Facebook post, Daugherty wrote “no one signed up for an infection as a condition of employment. Allowing a virus to slowly cripple us in the name of profits, contrary to what the CDC recommends, is a REALLY bad plan.”
Daughterty said the staff made the decision after an employee tested positive last week.
Alexandre’s isn’t the only business impacted by the recent surge.
Sarah Carlock owns Amor y Queso, a charcuterie board and shareable snack business. She tested positive for COVID on Christmas and was forced to close and refund her orders for New Year’s Eve.
“I was very supported but it did hurt to not have to open that whole weekend because that would have been a big one for us,” Carlock said. “This is our peak season for sure.”
“I made the decision to close because it wasn’t worth the risk to my customers, to anybody who might walk in and second I needed to make sure I prioritized my own health and the health of my children,” she said.
Carlock hopes to reopen later this week.
But back at Alexandre’s they’ll remain shut down for January and maybe longer. Daugherty said with cold weather coming in, forcing people inside, it’s just not safe.
“This is a decision that Alexandre’s workers made and I highly respect it and executed it for them on their behalf,” Daugherty said. “No one wanted this to happen and no one wanted it to be this way, but it’s necessary to protect us and this community.”