BEAUMONT, Texas — While more businesses in Texas plan to reopen on Friday, bars and breweries are still waiting on a green light. Owners say it can't come fast enough with the closures having already taken a toll.
Pour Brothers owner Joel Hollier spoke to 12News about the challenges.
"It's been very frustrating and seems almost arbitrary to us," Hollier said.
Tyler Blount, who owns Neches Brewing Company, says it's been tough.
"I feel like we're being discriminated a little bit," Blount said.
The two say patience is running out.
"I don't see that ours would be any different," Hollier said. "We can maintain the same distancing regulations, we can maintain the same lower occupancy level."
"If I put 25 people in here right now, it would still look very empty," Blount added.
Both breweries have still been able to offer beer to go, through growlers and packs of cans.
But even that, they say isn't enough.
Blount told 12News "It's hard, obviously we're not getting the revenue."
Hollier says sales are less than a quarter of what they are normally.
"It's been about 10 to 20 percent, so slightly harder hit than the norm," Hollier said.
In Silsbee, Derek Billingsley's Honky Tonk Texas has not seen any income after shutting down.
"You can weather that storm for a little bit, but after a month and a half, two months, it really takes its toll," Billingsley said. "We've already had to cancel three major shows in June."
Unfortunately for these businesses, employees have had to suffer too.
"Since all of this, we've had to let go four of our bartenders," Blount said.
Billingsley told 12News he had to lay off everyone.
Luckily, he adds that funds from the Payment Protection Program have come in and expects to hire some people back in time for the dance hall's cleaning on Monday.
Despite these trying times, owners recognize that the community has their back.
"We've had a lot of support and it's really keeping our head above water," Blount said.
It's also given Pour Brothers an opportunity to focus more on distribution.
"It is our thinnest margins by far, but it allows us to keep moving product at least," Hollier said.
For these owners, it's wait and see as they hope to re-open the doors sooner than later.
"At some point, we got to open the door," Blount said.
On Tuesday, Gov. Abbott said it's still too soon for bars to re-open.
The lack of assigned seating in a bar setting does present a challenge to social distancing guidelines, along with enforcement for people mingling.
There's no date set, but Governor Abbott says state officials are working on ways to get Texas bars open.
