A lunch tour of a few East Memphis restaurants showed that some folks seem to be aware of Health Directive 15 and others either don’t know about it or are not abiding by it.

The Shelby County Health Department’s directive, which went in effect at 12:01 a.m. Nov. 23, requires people to stay masked when in a restaurant except when actively eating or drinking. The new rules were a response to the continuing increase in the number of coronavirus infections. 

Businesses may stay open at 50% capacity; masking, other rules strictly enforced

When we arrived at Houston’s around noon Monday, two men at one table kept their masks on while they talked and waited on their meals. A table of three women were all unmasked, despite having no food on the table. Patrons at the other tables (there were 19 occupied in the main dining room while we were there) were either eating or had drinks on the table, so none were masked.

While there, we saw three groups of three women get seated and almost immediately remove their masks. One woman removed hers before she was seated; at a different table, one of the women kept hers on and another put hers back on after removing it.

All servers were properly masked (as they were in all restaurants we visited) and all diners except one had on masks when they walked around the restaurant; one man left his table and exited without a mask.

At The Half Shell, a table of two men were unmasked as they waited on their food at their table; when they left, they put on masks. Three tables of women remained in full compliance — masked until food came — and one table went the extra step as they kept their masks on while they enjoyed an early afternoon beer.

Owner Danny Sumrall said he believes some people don’t know the rules, but in the end, cooperation comes down to the diner.

“You can tell them they have to have their mask on unless they’re eating or drinking, and they say ‘OK’ and then they grab their water and take a drink,” he said.

“Listen, there are beaucoups of people who come in and still don’t want to wear a mask,” he said. “We give them one and tell them they have to wear it, and they say, ‘Well, I’ll just go some other place,’” he said. “We tell them it’s the same everywhere and to be fair, some of them are from out of town, from other counties, and they really don’t know.”

At Southall Café, just across Mendenhall from The Half Shell, diners at a two-top wore masks while they waited for food, a customer wore her mask while she waited for a to-go order, and other diners were eating lunch while we were there.

Three men, co-workers from the appearance of their uniforms, finished their meals and lingered a few minutes at the table without their masks. When they stood to leave, two properly covered their faces, but the third walked to the door without ever putting on a mask.

Don’t make restaurants pay the price for your not wearing a mask