Thirsty Armadillo, a Stockyards bar, opened Friday night. It served food and drinks from its front door
About 50 people gathered outside Thirsty Armadillo around 8 p.m. Friday.
They brought bikes and their friends and gathered in small groups, none larger than 10 and each group about 6 feet apart, to support the Stockyards bar as it served alcohol out of its front door for the first time since coronavirus sent the American economy into a deep slumber.
The bar served drinks and brisket for $3 and played country music. Patrons chatted, and some danced to songs like “Run with the Devil” by Bart Crow Band.
The “Honky Tonk Crawl for Freedom,” which was organized by former congressional hopeful Chris Putnam, was supposed to include the Basement Bar but ended up with just the Thirsty Armadillo.
Fred Barnett, a spokesman for many of the bars in the Stockyards, said the bar opened more for its employees than its own financial health.
“The bar could survive longer without the business, but the employees couldn’t,” he said. “They still need to pay rent and feed themselves and their families.”
During the week of April 19, 3.8 million Americans filed jobless claims, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Barnett said Thirsty Armadillo received the go-ahead to serve alcohol and food from its front doorway. A spokesman for Fort Worth code enforcement did not reply to an after-hours email request to confirm the city’s approval.
Early in the evening, some residents protesting the virus-spurred economic shutdown gathered between the Basement Bar, which canceled its plans to open Friday night, and Thirsty Armadillo, carrying rifles and wearing bullet-resistant vests.
Barnett said the protesters were friendly and courteous.
Roger Egle, a regular of both the Basement Bar and Thirsty Armadillo, said the protesters were peaceful. He even took photos with some of them.
Later in the evening, some patrons brought signs supporting the end of the economic shutdown, including one woman whose sign read: “My body, my choice.”
The Basement Bar posted Thursday on Facebook that it decided to remain closed after Gov. Greg Abbott announced phases to reopen businesses across the state. The first phase, which took effect Friday, including reopening restaurants and retail stores at limited capacity. An approved opening date for bars hasn’t been announced yet.
“Our post a week ago said we would be open May 1st after the shutdown was over,” the Basement Bar wrote on Facebook. “Then Gov. Abbott came out with the ridiculous phases. Where you could go sit at a bar in Chili’s and drink a beer but not at a bar in the Stockyards. Where you can take your dog to get a haircut but a human can’t go to a salon. Where you can sit in a movie theater (dirtiest place ever besides Walmart) but you cannot go to the gym.”
“Even though we disagree with the rules set forth, we will abide by them as we have since day one,” the post concluded. “We thank you all for the continued support.We will be open soon!”
This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 10:58 PM.