The TRA is a membership-based business association that provides advocacy, operations support and training, among other benefits, to its members who work in the food industry across 23 local chapters statewide.
According to the survey results obtained by Community Impact Newspaper on March 8, 73.1% of the 725 TRA members who responded to the question "Will you continue to require your staff to wear masks and face coverings after March 10?" answered yes, while 16.97% answered no and 9.93% said they were unsure.
Similarly, when asked if they would continue to require customers to wear masks and face coverings after March 10, 37.69% of the 711 respondents answered yes, while 43.46% answered no and 18.85% said they were unsure.
The survey results follow updated guidance from the TRA, which the organization released March 4 in anticipation of the mask mandate lifting and businesses being able to open at 100% capacity beginning March 10.
The updated guidance, known as "The Texas Restaurant Promise," was initially created at the start of the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020 based on feedback and guidance from industry leaders, health experts and research. According to the TRA website, the document serves as a social contract between restaurant owners, their staff and guests, and was most recently updated by TRA officials March 4 to reflect changes that would take effect March 10.
According to a March 4 news release, the updated guidance includes a face covering requirement for employees and encourages guests to wear a face covering when they are not seated at their table. The updated guidance also maintains key safety protocols like regular cleaning and disinfecting, hand-sanitizing stations, and employee and customer health screenings.
"This strikes the right balance between protecting employees and guests, and acknowledging that restaurant employees are not law enforcement officers and should not be placed in a difficult or potentially dangerous situation if a customer refuses to comply with a protocol," the release reads. "Unfortunately, we have seen far too many instances of these difficult interactions over the past year, which is why we continue to call upon every Texan to show respect and patience to any worker who is simply trying to do their job in spite of very challenging circumstances."
