Nashville businesses urged to spend the weekend preparing for phase one reopening

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Now that Mayor John Cooper has given businesses the go-ahead to reopen, he’s urging them to spend the weekend doing everything necessary to get ready.

“There’s no enforcement as much as the good will and reputation of your business to the public,” said Mayor Cooper.

One of those businesses is the WKND bar and lounge on Church Street, part of the city’s entertainment district. Like thousands of other businesses, WKND has been losing money since being shut down by the Mayor’s Safer at Home order. Staff spent the day getting ready to reopen.

Restaurants with bars are opening in phases. First, they can only be open at half capacity, must clean all surfaces, require staff to wear masks and screen them daily for the virus. That’s a tall order WKND co-owner A.G. Granderson says he’s prepared to fill.

“People want to be open but they also want to be safe. The public is the reason why we’re here so we have to take into account is this the right thing to do from a safety perspective before we start talking about revenues,” said Granderson.

Businesses can require customers to wear a mask when coming in or turn them away. They may also ask to screen you for the virus as well.