Jon Bonnell is owner of Bonnell's Restaurant Group in Fort Worth. He has four restaurants and a fifth in the works.
"I can promise you it is a lot more fun to talk to you today than it was on this day last year,” Bonnell said. “It has been the craziest rollercoaster of a year I could ever imagine."
He says the mask guidance from the CDC saying fully vaccinated people do not have to wear masks inside will take pressure off his staff.
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"It's nice to see some reassurance that I don't have to be in the mask police game anymore," Bonnell said.
Going forward they'll encourage masks but, not require them.
"We don't plan to ask anybody if you've been vaccinated,” Bonnell said. “We're going to trust if you are feeling comfortable and you feel safe and you aren't wearing one we are going to be okay with that here at the restaurant."
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It will be a similar scene at the National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum in Fort Worth.
"If you came in you had to have your mask on,” National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum co-founder Jim Austin said about pandemic protocols. “You had to wear your mask and so that was very important during pandemic time."
Right now, the museum is only doing private tours. Austin hopes to open back to the public by the middle of June.
"When guest come to the museum we are going to say that we would like for you to wear your mask but it's not mandatory for you to wear your mask," Austin said.
Each individual business will have the right to decide its mask policies.
Bonnell is asking the public to please respect that.
"Whatever policy they say just go with it for a while,” Bonnell said. “Please show some grace and some understanding. We didn't want to be the police of this and don't berate any of the employees because they are just following a policy."
