Local businesses start to reopen

Phase one of Abbott’s plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions begins

Several local businesses reopened

their doors Friday after Gov. Greg

Abbott eased some coronavirus

disease 2019-related restrictions.

Abbott’s Executive Order GA-18,

which was unveiled April 27, allowed

many retail businesses and

restaurant dining rooms to open

with limited occupancy and social

distancing measures in place. The

order marks Phase One of the governor’s

plan to open Texas and will

be in place for two weeks before

reviewal. If there is no fl are-up in

COVID-19 cases, some restrictions

could be eased and other businesses

could be allowed to open.

In Gatesville, several restaurants

and retail shops reopened their

doors Friday.

Tana Snoddy, who owns The Feed

Mill, was enthusiastically greeting

customers at the door to her restaurant

Friday afternoon.

“I am so grateful to see the people,”

Snoddy said. “I was really

excited to see everyone. It’s so hard

not to hug my customers.”

Before opening Friday, the fi rst

day that dine-in eating was permitted

in Texas, Snoddy and her staff

laid out the restaurant’s seating

plan to ensure social distancing

measures were followed and that

dining occupancy did not exceed

the governor-mandated 25 percent

capacity.

The restaurant also set-up a handsanitizing

station just inside the

front door and ordered individual,

single-use condiments and salt and

pepper packets.

Closed dining rooms and limited

capacities, along with other requirements

such as the single-use condiments,

has placed heavy burdens on

many locally owned restaurants, but 

Snoddy said most have been helping

each other.

“We’ve got to help each other

out,” she said. “We are all in this

together.”

Restaurant owners have had to

make adjustments to meet social

distancing requirements and other

measures aimed at stopping the

spread so that they could open their

dining rooms to customers.

“We just made some changes,”

Snoddy said. “It’s just something

we have to do.”

Among the changes at The Feed

Mill was the addition of some outside

seating.

Snoddy had no trouble maintaining

no more than 25 percent

occupancy on Friday and said she

understands there are those who

are not ready to be out and about

in public.

The Feed Mill is continuing free

delivery and family meals for those

who are not ready to dine-in yet.

Several retail shops also opened

their doors Friday after a prolonged

closure from the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Moo’s Boutique, Lajean Muegge

saw steady business on Friday.

“Today was good, but not great,”

she said, “I will just see how it

goes.”

Muegge is limited to three customers

at a time in her store to meet

occupancy requirements and cleans

the counter with a disinfectant between

customers.

She took time off and closed

her doors throughout most of the

Local businesses start to reopen

Phase one of Abbott’s plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions begins

By HEATHER ASHLEY

Messenger News Reporter

pandemic, but decided to open on

Friday.

“People seem eager to be out,”

Muegge said.

Others have begun to reopen under

the governor’s new guidance.

On Sunday, Grace Bible Church

opened its doors for the fi rst time

since March 15 and hosted two services,

one of the fi rst local churches

to reopen since the COVID-19

restrictions began.

Church services have been

deemed essential services and Abbott

released guidance April 27 to

assist houses of worship with hosting

services.

At Grace Bible, the fi rst service, at

9 a.m., catered to their more vulnerable

members; the second was for

everyone else.

Pastor Perry Garrett said the governor’s

executive order, coupled

with the desire to gather with his

congregation and the facility’s ability

to accommodate social distancing,

led church leadership to host

services.

“Many of our members wanted to

gather together in worship and it’s

such an integral aspect of our faith,”

the pastor said.

Perry and his wife, Tanna, planned

carefully to ensure safety among the

church members.

All church volunteers and personnel

wore masks. A hand-sanitizing

station was set-up at the front door

and attendees were offered masks.