CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS — Many Texas businesses, including malls, movie theaters, and restaurants, will be able to open to the public at 25 percent capacity beginning Friday, May 1, under the direction of the Governor who says social distancing guidelines must be followed.
In late March Governor Greg Abbott ordered all personal service businesses to close, which included hair and nail salons, barbershops, and tattoo shops.
This left many people without a main source of income. “Definitely frustrated. My employees are on unemployment; they are not bringing in any money. They have bills to pay, and they have children and loved ones to take care of,” said the owner of Mr. Louie's Hair Care, Michael Buhidar.
The owner of Mr. Louie's Hair Care, Michael Buhidar, says he is working his way through a very uncommon situation in 2020...a pandemic.
“We sanitize on a daily basis. We are regulated by the State Department of Licenses and Regulations. We have to meet a lot of criteria on a daily basis from other diseases that are not as popular like this COVID-19,” said Buhidar.
Abbott said he hopes to open barbershops, bars, hair salons and gyms by mid-May.
“You can walk into HEB, you can walk into Home Depot, you can walk into Academy, you can walk into Lowe’s, but you can’t walk into Mr. Louie’s. Why on the 18 are we going to be safe to walk into but tomorrow we are not? Taking everything into consideration, actually, we are as clean and safe as any other place that is allowed to open,” said Buhidar.
While their doors continue to be closed, they still have a responsibility to keep their customers informed, pay bills, and keep up with COVID-19, to help keep everyone safe when they do open their doors.