After a lengthy career in the construction business, Greg Barrineau decided to open Drink Texas in 2014 downtown on the corner of Navarro and Market streets. He considered bars a safe, recession-proof industry that would have patrons in both the good times and the bad.
But then came 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced the closure of both of Barrineau’s Drink Texas bars, the second located in Boerne. He previously had locations also in Stone Oak and Broadway, but they closed before the pandemic.
On June 26, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered bars closed. Those with kitchens could continue selling food, but only for takeout. It was the second time he had shut down bars during the pandemic while restaurants have stayed open since May — and that policy disparity has had bar owners crying foul ever since.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on July 30 issued new guidelines allowing businesses classified as bars but that also serve food the chance to reclassify themselves as restaurants. The decision allowed many bars to reopen their dining rooms after five weeks of drastic losses.
The TABC further loosened the rules for bars to reclassify as restaurants on Aug. 26, lifting the requirement for an on-site kitchen and letting bars count the sales from prepackaged food and food trucks as food revenue.
But Barrineau’s Drink Texas bars do not serve food, any food. It’s now been nearly 130 days through the two shutdowns that neither property has been able to produce any income.
As one of six members on the board of the Texas Bar and Nightclub Alliance, a group that has been actively advocating for Abbott to reopen bars, Barrineau has been such a vocal advocate, industry peers have given him the nickname “The Governor.”
Barrineau knows coronavirus is serious; he contracted COVID-19 in June. Now recovered, he regularly donates plasma to help other coronavirus patients recover more quickly.
The Express-News sat down with Barrineau inside his downtown bar and talked about the state of affairs of an industry that has been on perpetual lockdown with seemingly no end in sight. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
On ExpressNews.com: TABC allows Texas bars with kitchens to reopen their dining rooms after reclassifying as restaurants
Was it a surprise to you when they initially shut down the bars with the restaurants because of a virus, and did you see it originally as a short-term deal?
Yes, it was surprising it happened, but (the first shutdown) understandable. When restaurants were allowed to reopen, and we couldn’t, that was something that was a bitter pill to swallow. Restaurant bars were able to open, so it was a case of one entity was allowed to have different rules than another. It wasn’t, and still isn’t, fair. They are drinking the exact same drinks, and I need somebody to explain to me how food is a buffer for coronavirus.
Why were bars singled out in the way that they were?
Bars were an easy target politically. There are enough people in government who don’t really care if we ever get to reopen, and might just say to drink at home. That’s the only answer that I can have. I don’t have anything else, because it just doesn’t make sense.
When we were open, tables were 6 feet apart, patrons were required to wear their masks when they stood up, there were (four) barstools at the bar, and our staff wore masks. We made sure that our customers and our staff were safe. We did everything we could to practice social distancing and make sure customers could enjoy the time they had with us and be safe. How is that different from a restaurant bar?
Was it the second shutdown June 26 that really kind of hit you over the head like a sledgehammer, when Gov. Abbott gave everybody about two hours’ notice that you had to close again on a routine Friday?
The second shutdown was disturbing because we were the only business singled out by the entire state of Texas, with the exception of tubers. We were the only ones closed. That’s not right.
Do you think in the future, owners and workers will be less likely to enter the bar industry as a result of this?
I hope that we get beyond this and the political powers realize that it was a mistake to single out a particular type of business, purely because of a license type. Politically, people have decided in Texas, you are more likely to catch the corona (at a bar). We don’t sell food here, but a lot of bars that did sell food were closed also. They could have been considered a restaurant, and now some are, but it all goes back to the (license).
On ExpressNews.com: Texas bar shutdown likely dooms many San Antonio-area bars
The TABC passed the food provision for bars to reopen if they could prove that alcohol sales were less than 50 percent of their income. To what degree are you considering adding food?
Honestly, I don’t want to do it. I like being just a bar. I’ve done food. I’ve had locations where I had food programs. It’s not my thing. I’m good at the bar business and prefer to stay out of the restaurant business.
I’m considering it because I don’t know how many waves of this coronavirus we’re gonna have. And if I can get open again, I don’t want to get closed back down because politically, somebody needs to get closed.
What does the optimist in you say? When do you think you can realistically open back up?
What we are hearing is that Jerry Jones has convinced the governor that 50 percent occupancy at (Dallas) Cowboys games will be allowed. We are wondering how he can allow that, but not allow bars to be open? The governor has also made comments that he wants to get through the hurricane, schools being reopened and Labor Day weekend. And if the trends of (coronavirus) going down continue, he will consider more openings.
Well, there is only one thing left to consider to open: bars. We are hopeful in the next couple weeks, we don’t have to fight this fight anymore.
How has staffing been affected? Will it be a problem to bring staff back, and could this lead to a massive shortage of workers in the industry?
I’m not saying that yet. In our initial closure round, our entire staff found a way to survive for 60 days, whether it was through unemployment, or other means. This round, I’m seeing more of them finding other jobs to do, so I’m not sure how many will come back. And who can blame them? There has been so much time.
Some staff has gone on to work at other bars that serve food. It’s kind of sad that my staff can go to other bars, and my patrons are free to go to other bars, and all we can do is sit here closed.
You are one of six on the board with the Texas Bar and Nightclub Alliance, and the organization put a platform together that was presented to the governor with industry recommendations. A lot of those were adopted when restaurants and bars were allowed to reopen in regards to service standards and social distancing. Why the stall now?
The governor doubled-down when he admitted he made a mistake of opening the bars the first time. So he’s being very careful when he will announce they can open again. It’s as simple as that in my opinion.
Would you say the relationship between the TBNA and state was healthy going into this?
We’ve always worked with the state and the TABC. We’ve been working hard with the governor and the task force. We pushed hard that first (shutdown to reopen), but this time, they haven’t been very responsive or receptive to any dialogue.
When you do get to reopen, how important will it be for the bar owners to adhere to the guidelines?
It’s incredibly important, so we can show that our industry is an industry of professionals, and we take it seriously. There is an opinion out there that is not what we are. I’ve heard comments that people go into bars and drink too much, and nobody can control them. Well, that’s our jobs. That’s what we do every single day, and we’re good at, to control what people drink. There’s no reason we can’t keep our customers and staff in compliance.
Is this a situation that will lead to catastrophic consequences for bar business owners, or do you think there is still time to get through this?
It depends on who you are talking about, but the bars are closing on a regular basis throughout Texas. People are giving up. It’s almost like there is an effort to eliminate the local neighborhood bar.
Because at this point, that’s what we are down to: the noncorporate neighborhood bars that are being effected. You can name corporate after corporate — Chili’s, Appelbees, Hooters, Twin Pinks — and all of them are open. There aren’t many bar owners who can afford to be closed for a quarter or more of the year with zero revenue.
And if we go to half a year, even the corporate restaurants will start closing up. There’s no breaks on leases, and you have to pay to open the locks whether you are open or not.
Chuck Blount is a food writer and columnist covering all things grilled and smoked in the San Antonio area. Find his Chuck's Food Shack columns on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.comTo read more from Chuck, become a subscriber. cblount@express-news.net | Twitter: @chuck_blount | Instagram: @bbqdiver
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