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'We didn’t really sign up to be an enforcement agency for the state' | Triad businesses grapple with mask mandate

Some Triad business owners said the responsibility of mask enforcement shouldn't be on them. Others are having no compliance problems.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — We all know we're under a statewide mask mandate. But as far as enforcement goes, the line can get a little blurry.

Some Triad business owners said the responsibility shouldn't fall on them.

"There's even some frustration I get when we talk to small businesses, including myself, who say 'well we didn't really sign up to be an enforcement agency for the state, right?'" Algenon Cash, Director of the Triad Food and Beverage Coalition said while addressing Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines in a virtual town hall. "And to some degree it feels like the onus is being pushed back down onto businesses."

RELATED: Want to eat in the middle of the street? Winston-Salem considering it on weekends

Mayor Joines responded by saying Winston-Salem Police are handling mask-mandate related calls with 'soft enforcement,' hoping for voluntary compliance and using educational tools. 

"For instance with the mask, if a person is not wearing a mask we will remind them that there is an executive order," Mayor Joines said. "If you are a business, and that business wants you to wear a mask and you refuse you can be asked to leave if you don't leave you can be arrested for trespassing."

Virtual Town Hall: Mayor Allen Joines

Join us for an interactive town hall event with Mayor Allen Joines

Posted by Triad Food & Beverage Coalition on Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Dennis Studer owns The Brooklyn Pizzeria in Greensboro.

"They all say they're not going to patronize my business and whatnot but, this is going to sound rude, but I don't recognize any of them."

RELATED: How will North Carolina's face mask requirement be enforced?

Studer got some backlash from Facebook warriors when he wrote masks are now required in his building, as is required by the order.

"No one is asking you to put a hole in your mask as you eat it's just ludicrous," he continued. 

The executive order states you do not need to be wearing a mask while actively eating and drinking.

"For the most part we've seen really positive feedback and that's all we can really ask for," he said. "All we’re asking customers to do is show the same courtesy as our employees are showing for the whopping two minute transaction that’s going to occur."

Though some on social media said he would lose customers due to enforcing the mask mandate, Studer said he's seen quite the opposite.

"If anything it has kind of gotten better because of the overall positivity from everyone else, the feedback and support."

Law enforcement agencies have said they are working to enforce the mask mandate and other aspects of the executive order on a complaint-basis and hope for voluntary compliance. 

Greensboro Police said they have not cited any businesses, or made any trespassing arrests in relation to the mask mandate. 

A spokesperson for the police department said they've had a 'few' mask mandate related calls where officers were dispatched to educate.

If you want to report a violation: masks, large gatherings, or a business that should not be open under Phase 2, call your local police station's non-emergency line. 

Do not dial 911.

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