Struggling to rebound from coronavirus, Fort Worth businesses worry about city curfew
As shoppers and diners returned to Fort Worth’s popular entertainment districts, a citywide curfew — aimed at controlling crowds protesting injustice and the death of George Floyd — has forced business owners to pump the brakes yet again.
Fort Worth could remain under curfew through Tuesday if the City Council approves a resolution extending the state of emergency Mayor Betsy Price declared following a standoff Sunday between police and protesters on the West 7th Street bridge. The citywide curfew begins at 8 p.m. each night and runs until 6 a.m. the following morning. The extension leads Thursday’s council agenda.
There was mixed support for the curfew among those who spoke the Star-Telegram on Wednesday.
Price enacted the curfew Monday after police used tear gas to disperse a crowd on the West 7th bridge. Hours of peaceful protests came to an end late Sunday when some marchers threw waters bottles and chunks of ice into a police line blocking access to the Cultural District. A firework was also shot at police, Chief Ed Kraus said. After telling the crowd to leave, police first deployed flash bangs and smoke but ultimately turned to tear gas for the first time in decades.
Extending the curfew through the weekend would be excessive, said Melissa Dunn, president of the West 7th Street Neighborhood Alliance. Dunn said she thought the time limit was a useful tool to protect from potential mischief following Sunday’s protest, but now she worries it could hurt Cultural District businesses.
“Now that we’ve seen the protests are peaceful, I don’t see why we’d continue the curfew,” she said. “We feel safe with the police presence we have now.”
Andy Taft, president of Downtown Fort Worth Inc., said a few business owners had expressed disappointment with the curfew, but Taft said he thought attitudes had shifted. While the curfew does restrict business, he said it protects both peaceful protesters and private property.
“After I told them this is a small price for freedom and we should be honored to pay it I think their perspective changed,” he said.
Dain “Adam” Jones, owner of Grace and Little Red Wasp, said a prolonged curfew was a potential “nail in the coffin” for restaurants and bars.
Business at his restaurants dropped by 90% when coronavirus hit and had started to climb back up to around 50% of normal once restaurants were allowed seat at a quarter of occupancy. With an 8 p.m. curfew, he said he stops taking reservations around 6 p.m.
Despite the anxiety, he said the curfew was likely the smartest decision if officials were worried about property damage or controlling the crowd.
“The thousands I might loose is worth it if we can save lives and keep things calm, just like with coronavirus,” he said. “I am for the protest, but I am not for vandalism.”
Grandma’s, the former Off the Record spot on Magnolia, opened March 16 and closed the next day because of coronavirus, said co-owner Chuck Bouligny. The bar opened over the weekend at 25% occupancy — just enough to scrape by. The curfew could ruin things for the small business, he said.
“If you’re going to close me down for another week I might as well call it a day,” he said.
Bouligny called the curfew extreme and unnecessary. Protests had remained peaceful after Sunday, and Magnolia Avenue had been quiet.
Other business owners in the Near Southside were surprised the curfew covers the entire city and began early, said Mike Brennan, president of the Near Southside.
At the start of the novel coronavirus shutdown, many Near Southside business owners joined a group message board to discussion restrictions, share financial tools and show support for each other. Some business owners expressed frustration that the curfew didn’t begin later, he said, or covered more than downtown, where protests have been centered since late last week.
But largely, the conversation was focused on social injustices, Brennan said.
“There was some feeling at first that the hammer was too big for the problem,” he said. “There was discussion, of course, about the impact to their bottom line, but we have a really good group over here who understand the broader, national social implications.”
Macy Moore, co-owner of HopFusion Ale Works just south of Interstate 30 in the South Main Village, welcomed protesters.
“They could fill up the Southside, and I’d be right there with them,” he said.
He struck a hard line on damaging private property, and said he understood the need for a curfew as a way to prevent that.
At first Moore said he wasn’t in favor the curfew being citywide, but after some confusion Wednesday he changed his mind. In the afternoon Moore said he heard a rumor that a rally was scheduled along West Lancaster, just on the other side of the I-30 underpass, and the city was advising business to close down. That wasn’t the case.
The 8 p.m. deadline has basically eliminated the brewery’s already limited evening business. Most customers begin to arrive between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. with business picking up around 8 p.m., he said. With the curfew in place, Moore said he closes around 7:30 p.m. to give people time to get home.
“It’ll be hard, no doubt,” he said.
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
