Fort Worth-area tattoo business opens despite governor’s coronavirus executive order
Tattoo shop owner Ashley Craig couldn’t keep the doors shut on her business any longer.
Saying she couldn’t let her business fail after 13 years, Craig and the staff of North Texas Tattoo Co. reopened Saturday afternoon after being closed for weeks.
“We have been 100 percent closed down since March 17th as requested by the governor,” Craig said Saturday just hours before she opened. “We have applied for all the loans. Our PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) application has been denied twice. Still no word on help from the SBA on that loan. We have run out of our savings and can no longer rely on the government for help.”
So North Texas Tattoo Co. reopened by appointment only on West Bedford-Euless Road despite an existing executive order by the governor to shelter in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the most recent order from Gov. Greg Abbott, some businesses such as hair salons, barber shops and nail salons were allowed to reopen Friday with social distancing guidelines. Restaurants and retail stores were among those that reopened with limited capacity last week.
The governor noted businesses like gyms and exercise facilities could reopen May 18. But no date has been set for reopening businesses such as tattoo shops, piercing studios and massage parlors.
The initial executive order said failure to comply was punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 or a maximum of 180 days in jail, or both.
The punishments were amended by Abbott when Dallas salon owner Shelley Luther was jailed for contempt of court after violating the executive order and her sentence gained national attention. She was later released.
The governor said no one else would be arrested.
The executive order still says, “People shall avoid visiting bars, massage establishments, tattoo studios, piercing studios, sexually oriented businesses, or interactive amusement venues such as bowling alleys, video arcades, amusement parks, water parks or splash pads.”
“We simply don’t fit in that category,” said Josh Gonzalez, owner of Ink817 in Fort Worth, in a Saturday email to the Star-Telegram. “The difference between us and them is that we’ve always been mandated to hospital grade levels of sterilization so it’s kind of old hat to us.”
Gonzalez said he hoped that Abbott would correct the categorization of tattoo shops as entertainment so they can reopen on May 18 or earlier with other Phase 2 businesses.
“Tattooers are an industrious folk,” Gonzalez said. “We like hard work and want to support our families and many are struggling.”
A spokeswoman with the Texas Department of State Health Services said on Friday that questions surrounding when tattoo businesses could reopen “are best answered by the governor’s office because decisions about opening businesses are made by the governor and the governor’s strike force.”
As of Friday, Abbott had not given a date for tattoo businesses to reopen.
“We decided to open today to make a stand that our industry will no longer be discriminated against,” Craig said.
In Texas, there are 2,648 tattoo parlors, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
In the past, Craig said, the image of tattoo shops was of biker gangs and drugs, but she said that’s not the case anymore.
“We have teachers, lawyers, nurses and doctors here,” Craig said. “It’s not the same industry anymore.”
Before the virus hit the world, tattoo shops had to follow state standard precautions for infection control and prevention. That includes hand-washing, gloving and use of personal protective equipment.
Studios also have to be sterilized by either steam sterilization or by dry heat, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services, which regulates the industry.
“We are constantly cleaning,” Craig said. “We use cleaners that hospitals use.”
Craig and her husband, David McConn, owners of North Texas Tattoo Co., opened Saturday with scheduled appointments, no armed supporters, and without a GoFundMe account.
The Dallas salon owner reopened her business in late April with armed supporters standing guard, and there was GoFundMe account through which supporters raised more than $500,000 for her.
Craig said the last few days have been frustrating.
“I want to stay open with the governor’s permission,” said Craig, who plans to stay open seven days a week.. “My hope is that by standing up for my industry, we can finally get a seat at the table to be heard.”
This story was originally published May 9, 2020 at 2:23 PM.
