Omaha area restaurants urging patrons to mask up

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Omaha area restaurants and businesses are once again asking customers to mask up.

“Friendly customers who are more than willing to comply.”

A sign of the times at some area businesses is please wear a mask before entering.

Andrea Lawse owns Artemis Tea and Botanical near 40th & Farnam. She says the policy is partially due to the size of her shop.

“We’re such a small space that having masks seems even more important for us because there isn’t a lot of different places for people to space six feet apart,” said Lawse.

Andrea says she keeps an eye on the number of COVID cases in the Omaha metro and believes that it takes all of us to make a difference in fighting the virus.

“Every person plays a part in this community and we all have to think about each other and work together and we’re going to be healthier and more successful when we do.”

At Table Grace near 16th & Farnam Matt Weber and his crew are preparing for the noon lunch crowd. They and neighboring Block 16 recommend customers mask up before entering.

Weber also looks at the recent spread with more of a worldview approach.

“We tend to look at the country as a whole in terms of what communities are doing. I know I traveled to Illinois over the holidays and masks were required pretty much everywhere you went,” said Weber.

Employees are required to wear masks at Table Grace to help them and their customers stay safe. Both Weber and Andrea Lawse want to keep their doors open during this latest wave of the pandemic.

For them, safety starts right here.

“Our staff is double vaccinated or boosted and we’re all doing our part to take care of each other and ourselves.”

6 News checked Modern Love restaurant in Midtown Crossing, they closed their dining room but plan to reopen it this Monday.

At this point, businesses are free to decide whether they want to recommend masking for their customers or not because there is no mandate.

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