HOUSTON, Texas — It has been three weeks since Gov. Greg Abbott shut down bars again in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus.
In the process, restaurants also had to roll back capacity to 50 percent.
Denise McCarthy, office manager for Eagle Houston, said bars have become a scapegoat because more than 50 percent of their revenue comes from alcohol.
“There’s zero revenue, zero staff income, zero assistance and somehow the governor thinks that we can financially survive,” McCarthy said. “And to make it easy I guess on city officials they chose to close down every one that had that license which are the bars. Restaurants stayed open.”
Social media videos taken inside Bisou on Wednesday and Thursday night and posted on Snapchat show what appears to be a packed out restaurant.
Chris Porter, spokesperson for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, confirmed Bisou is under investigation for violating the governor’s executive orders requiring social distancing and 50 percent capacity but no citations have been issued.
McCarthy said seeing restaurants open and making money while they suffer has been frustrating.
“So if you want us to change our floor plan to be just like a restaurant with permanent tables and chairs, we’ll do it. We will do anything to get the doors open,” McCarthy exclaimed.
She said it’s about surviving and they’re focused on what the governor plans to do next.
McCarthy said, “How can you be so disconnected from the American worker that you cannot understand that is how we keep our roof over our head, our lights on, and food on our table.”
A spokesperson for the Houston Fire Marshal’s Office said they’ve responded to complaints regarding Bisou.
We reached out to Bisou, but representatives of the restaurant could not be reached for comment.
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