COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s been a few weeks since The Bottle Shop in Columbus resumed business. But once they opened their doors, owner Barbara Reynolds noticed that patrons disregarding the rules turned The Bottle Shop into a bottleneck.

What You Need To Know


  • A new batch of coronavirus cases have been traced back to bars and restaurants 

  • The governor says the violation is a misdemeanor, but enforcement still remains nebulous

  • A local bar owner decided to scale back operations, noting fruitless enforcement didn't pair well with her business

  • Two state officials charged with enforcement are trying to decriminalize violations

So, she did something unorthodox. She voluntarily scaled back operations, noting fruitless enforcement didn't pair well with her business.

“I can't in good conscience operate when my staff is terrified to come to work. I spoke to everybody and said let's just push the grab-and-go cocktails, which we're doing in our market now, push the deliveries and just hope we can keep going that way”

The decision comes amid a whole new batch of cases traced back to bars and restaurants in the area.

“A lot of people are catching it in the service industry and other businesses aren’t handling it with the transparency we’re trying to handle it with,” Reynolds said.

It’s a problem souring industries all over Ohio — and part of the reason Ohio Governor Mike DeWine rolled out a new 6 p.m. mandatory mask curfew for the areas hardest hit. The governor says the violation is a misdemeanor, but enforcement still remains nebulous.

“While businesses are expected to urge their customers to do this, a business is not required to enforce this, this is up to state and local officials. It's not on the business to enforce it,” said Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted.

Two of those state officials charged with enforcement — Speaker of the House Larry Householder (R-Glenford) and Attorney General Dave Yost (R)—are actively trying to decriminalize violations, seeing it as an infringement of freedom.

Yost commented on the matter on Twitter, saying:

“We are free people — free to put others before ourselves, or free to be defiant. But because we have a right to do a thing does not mean it is wise."

State Rep. Nino Vitale (R-Urbana), one of the most outspoken lawmakers againt masks, was much less nuanced, saying in a Facebook post:

“Are you tired of living in a dictatorship yet? This is what happens when people go crazy and get tested. Stop getting tested! It is giving the government an excuse to claim something is happening that is not happening at the magnitude they say it is happening.”

Meanwhile, back at The Bottle Shop, Reynolds is praying this good-faith decision doesn’t put her in the red.

“Obviously, financially it's really difficult. You know, nothing makes better margins than cocktails at the bar. But if it's not sustainable and it’s not safe, it doesnt matter,” she said.

While she tries to maintain a rosy outlook, she’s pretty sure 2020 won’t be remembered as a great year.

When asked if she wishes that those at the top were doing more for enforcement instead of leaving it to the individual bars and restaurants, she replied, "Absolutely, yes."

She went on to say, "I know everyone's in a different situation, and a lot of places if they're closed down again aren't going to be able to reopen, and I don't want that for anyone, but for me, it doesn’t seem like bars and restaurants should be open right now. It's obviously not safe, and things are just getting worse.”