Is a bar that serves food safer than a bar that doesn’t? Not necessarily, one Houston expert says.

Torri Donley

Their hopes for a return to work dashed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest phased reopening, bar owners and employees have been left to wonder: Why is a bar that gets more than half its revenue from food — and therefore is allowed to operate lawfully — automatically safer than […]

Their hopes for a return to work dashed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest phased reopening, bar owners and employees have been left to wonder: Why is a bar that gets more than half its revenue from food — and therefore is allowed to operate lawfully — automatically safer than a bar that doesn’t?

According to one local expert, that’s not necessarily true. 

Many factors play into the risk level associated with visiting a restaurant or a bar-turned-restaurant during the pandemic, said Sujata Sirsat, a scientist and assistant professor in the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Houston. And all should be taken into consideration when assessing how safe it is.

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“It depends on what else they are doing,” Sirsat said. “Are they following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines? Are they providing masks for their employees?”

In making his announcement last week, Abbott cited warnings from the nation’s top infectious disease experts that bars are super-spreaders of COVID and provide an ideal environment for the highly-contagious virus to easily be contracted.

But hitting the state’s reopening benchmark – at least 50 percent of gross receipts from selling food – does not by itself reduce the primary risk factors associated with bars, Sirsat said. 

With or without expansive food service, consumption of alcohol can lower inhibitions and lead patrons to be forgetful of social distancing, personal hygiene and wearing masks, Sirsat said. Singing, dancing and loudly talking are synonymous with bars and can also increase the risk of exposure to the virus, which is spread by large respiratory droplets.

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Studies have linked establishments that serve food and beverages to increased risk of the virus, like this recent study from the CDC which found COVID-positive adults were twice as likely to have reported eating out than those who tested negative. The CDC offers an exhaustive list of best practices for bars and restaurants that employees, employers and patrons alike should check a business is following.

“There needs to be a mindset change,” Sirsat said, “and an understanding that (congregating) can enhance the risk of you transmitting the virus or getting sick from it.”

The danger lies in assuming that just because an establishment has reopened, it is safe. Prospective patrons should consider personal responsibility first, Sirsat said: If they live with a high-risk individual, such as an elderly person or someone with preexisting conditions, going out for drinks with friends may not be the best choice right now, whether light appetizers are served or not.

“The other thing to think about is to identify what practices this particular business is following,” Sirsat said. “Gauge whether they are providing employees with PPE (personal protection equipment). And are they cognizant of maintaining distancing?”

As for eating and drinking establishments that boast expansive outdoor seating and space, such as breweries and wineries, Sirsat cautions against a false sense of immunity.

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“In general, the consensus is that outdoor transmission is lower,” she said. “However, I don’t think this can be taken as a free-for-all where you congregate outdoors and don’t wear masks.

“One of the biggest challenges with this particular virus is the amount of asymptomatic transmission. There is no one measure that is most effective, that is a silver bullet. It is going to be a combination of all of these best practices that can help us mitigate the spread.”

Sirsat said anyone who is itching to enjoy a cocktail and support a local business should take all the precautions they can before doing so. Otherwise, she said, “You might be risking someone’s life.”

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