BURLINGTON — During any normal July Fourth weekend, the job of a security guard at Red Square is uncomplicated: Keep the peace outside one of Church Street’s busiest nightlife spots.
But this year, as maskless 20-somethings flocked to Queen City bars in droves to celebrate ahead of Independence Day, the bouncers had a new task — shooing customers in the cue behind lines marked six feet apart on the pavement in an attempt to encourage social distancing.
As the number of Covid-19 cases remains low in Vermont, establishments have been given the green light to open under new guidelines, including reduced capacity, closed bar seating, required reservations and masks for employees.
But compliance in the state’s largest city has been mixed from patrons and establishments alike.
Last week, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger announced that four Burlington bars — Red Square, Akes’ Place, JP’s Pub and The Other Place — were issued warnings by the Department of Liquor Control for allegedly violating the guidelines.
“We will be watching bar activity very closely,” Weinberger wrote in a statement on July 1, threatening further action if establishments did not comply with state orders.
Last weekend, the city “got far fewer” complaints than in prior weeks, Weinberger said at a press conference Wednesday. But he indicated that bars remain on notice in Burlington, saying he has “real concerns about activity” at the establishments.
In a letter to bar owners sent on Wednesday, state officials warned that because indoor congregate settings like bars “have proven to be significant vectors for the disease,” the state will continue to conduct compliance checks in partnership with local law enforcement and health officials.
Burlington Deputy Police Chief Matthew Sullivan said that under a municipal ordinance, BPD can issue tickets for violations of the governor’s executive orders. But the department’s “focus has been on compliance through education,” he said. The department will refer violations to the state for enforcement.
“I think the two things that I’m looking closely at are: What is the level of community transmission? And what is the rate of compliance with the governor’s rules?” Weinberger said Wednesday. “I think increases in the amount of community transmission or a continued sense that there are frequent violations — both of those are conditions that could result in further action on the part of the city or the state.”
Bars observed by VTDigger over the weekend appeared mostly to be in compliance with state guidelines. Their patrons, though, took a more cavalier approach. Most guests had little regard for social distancing or mask recommendations — illustrating one of numerous dilemmas facing bar owners as they work to stay afloat amid the pandemic.
At Red Square, one of the city’s busiest spots due to its expansive outdoor seating capacity, more than 100 people turned out on both Thursday and Friday to drink, dance at their table and socialize over music played by a DJ. Currently, the bar operates with only outdoor seating. State guidelines mandate that outdoor capacity must not exceed 50% or 150 people.
“It’s been a learning experience from day one,” said Red Square owner Martti Matheson. “You’re given a whole new set of parameters to run a business.”
Next door, at Akes’ Place, there were just seven tables in an outdoor seating area, and a handful more inside. Indoor capacity is capped at 50% or 75 people.
Controlling the actions of crowds, though, has proven to be challenging. Over the weekend, bar-goers without masks congregated closer than social distancing recommendations call for, and some moved between tables to interact with other patrons.
“You’d think after three-and-a-half months that people would know how to behave and know how to do this,” Matheson said. “If we’re going to have to start policing every move, every little action of people, then I’d rather just close.”
The state isn’t policing patrons, either. Gov. Phil Scott has resisted calls for a statewide mask mandate, instead his administration has launched a marketing campaign that encourages residents to wear masks in public.
Wallace Burgess, a Syracuse University student who is from the Burlington area, said many young people are “getting complacent” and not wearing masks out of “laziness.” Wallace Burgess wasn’t wearing a mask outside of Akes’ Place late Friday night.
“Even people who wear them, they’ll take them off when they sit down and stuff,” he said. “So, like, wearing a mask — it’s kind of an illusion at this point if you’re going out. You might as well not even bother.”
Matheson said he sees value in keeping Akes’ Place open in order to provide “mental health benefits” for those who need to socialize. Without that outlet, young people would simply congregate at parties elsewhere in an “uncontrolled environment.”
Other bar owners have opted to keep establishments closed for the time being. Syd Eren, the owner of What Ales You, said he is partially rethinking his business model. He is installing Plexiglass plates between tables “to try to force social distancing” before the popular spot reopens.
But the economic consequences of remaining closed for extended periods are dire, and even as restrictions have loosened, many Queen City bars face uncertainty amid the pandemic.
Under current regulations, Red Square won’t be able to stay open when the weather turns cold, Matheson said.
“When we move to the indoor season, and if there’s no vaccine and no cure, there’s going to be no Red Square,” he said. “We can’t operate in that environment. But outdoors? I think we’re good.”
Others believe that potential health consequences are not worth the economic gain.
“It feels like it nullifies all of the efforts that we’ve made,” said Rob Laclair, a passerby on Church Street.
“I don’t think you should sacrifice public safety for a local business,” Laclair said. “This is where the government should be stepping in and subsidizing to make sure they don’t open up.”
Kelsey Gleason, a public health researcher and assistant professor at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, cautioned that “the first wave isn’t over,” and that gathering places like bars present a health risk.
The virus is more readily transmitted through tiny saliva droplets from speaking, sneezing and coughing in indoor spaces where the droplets can become aerosol particles that linger a room for a few minutes or several hours, according to recent scientific studies cited by the New York Times.
“I think that any place that increases contact with each other and increases community transmission will be a risk,” she said.
Even outdoors — though better than indoor spaces due to increased space — the virus can spread, she said.
“If people are less than six feet away, touching surfaces, interacting with each other personally, then, yes, that is definitely concerning,” Gleason said.
“I would caution against loosening up too soon and taking this dip in cases as permission to go out and resume any kind of normalcy,” she added. “We’ve done a great job in Vermont of keeping cases low but that doesn’t mean that we are over the hump and that doesn’t mean that we are no more susceptible.”
