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Colleyville businesses torn between following city or state guideline for re-opening
Some businesses plan to open Friday, but others are going to wait it out until they get more instructions from the state.
COLLEYVILLE, Texas - The city of Colleyville plans to move forward with lifting restrictions on some businesses.
Beginning Friday, city officials say salons, gyms and massage businesses can operate by appointment only. The order is seemingly at odds to state guidelines and leaves many people unsure.
Even though many businesses are anxious to open back up, not all in Colleyville are planning to do so. Some businesses plan to open Friday, but others are going to wait it out until they get more instructions from the state.
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The last month has been tough on small salons, like Jennifer Kang’s business in Colleyville. She and others in her industry haven’t had any income since March 21 when salons were shut down by the state. Many are down to the last of their savings and thankful to finally reopen.
“We want to flatten the curve. We want to be legal. We don’t want to lose our license. We don’t want to get fined,” Kang said. “But meanwhile, I could use a couple hundred bucks in my account.”
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But business owners say the constant stream of different restrictions from the city, county and state have been hard to keep up with.
“Extremely confusing because we’re getting all kinds of different information,” said Wendy Revell with Infinity Salon. “So whether it’s the state or whether it’s Colleyville itself, or whether it’s Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation trying to figure out can I get fined? Am I supposed to do this?”
As soon as it was announced some restrictions would be lifted off certain businesses in Colleyville, business owners say they were flooded with calls from clients desperate to get their hair done.
“I’m standing with Colleyville. I believe they have done what they need to do on their end,” Revell said. “So when I see that’s what they say, that’s where my business is located, I’ve done my due diligence, I’ve called and I believe I can open up on Friday.”
Other businesses aren’t sure if they’ll open Friday.
Arun Sharma, owner of AIB Threading Salon, says some of his employees have concerns about coming back to work so soon.
“The city has opened it, but the state still has the restrictions and also Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has their restrictions, which match with the state,” Sharma said. "There’s still conflict going on. We’re still trying to find out what’s the best for our clients and for our employees before we jump into anything.”
David Coale is an attorney who specializes in cases dealing with governmental power. He says in this case when in doubt, follow the state’s guidelines.
“In six months if somebody's going to sue you for doing something in violation of law… Somebody gets sick at your business. And we look back at what the law was. You complied with the local, but not the state. And in that situation, you probably want to be in compliance with the state,” Coale said.
Businesses that plan on opening Friday say they’ll wear a mask and schedule appointments further apart to do extra cleaning between clients.
Governor Greg Abbott is set to issue another executive order Monday which could discuss opening up or loosening restrictions on more businesses.
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