BRADENTON – Members of Anna Maria Island’s bar industry joined their peers in protesting Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to keep Florida’s bars and nightclubs closed.
The Tuesday, May 19 protest took place in front of the Wade Thompson law office on Manatee Avenue West, near downtown Bradenton. Protestors wore masks to demonstrate their willingness to comply with COVID-19 safety measures.
On St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-68, an order that suspended the sale of alcohol for onsite consumption at bars and nightclubs that generate more than 50% of their revenue from alcohol sales.
DeSantis’ order currently impacts six stand-alone bars on the Island: The Drift In, the Sports Lounge and Tommyknockers Saloon AMI in Bradenton Beach and the Anchor Inn, D Coy Ducks and The Doctor’s Office in Holmes Beach. Bortell’s Lounge in Anna Maria is currently closed for renovations. DeSantis’ order also prevents the Moose Lodge in Bradenton Beach from reopening.
DeSantis’ initial phase one reopening plan took effect May 4 and was expanded on May 18. As of Saturday, the full phase one reopening plan still excluded bars and nightclubs.
Tuesday’s protest coincided with a petition letter Thompson sent to DeSantis and other state and local officials on behalf of The Association of Independent Bars of Manatee.
The association was founded by Papa Joe’s Sports Bar and Scalawags Pub owners Joe and Amy Harris and Gators Lounge & Package owner Brent Cohenour and his wife Kelly. According to the petition letter, Thompson is part owner of Gators Lounge & Package.
The association includes Anchor Inn owners Darla and Bob Tingler, Drift In owners Joe and Angie Cuervo and Tommyknockers Saloon AMI owners Frank and Sheila Commendatore.
During the protest, Joe Cuervo said, “In the middle of March, I got five hours’ notice that I was going to be shut down. We want Governor DeSantis to know that we want to open our businesses. We’ve got families to feed and bills to pay. What difference is there getting a Coke or a drink or a beer at a bar versus going into a restaurant? Those licenses are only about $1,800 a year. Our liquor license cost us over $350,000. We need to get back to work. I’m paying my employees, but I’m about out of money. I need to get some relief and open this up.”
Standing beside Cuervo, Darla Tingler said, “We can’t open our doors just because we don’t serve $25 grouper sandwiches. We could probably social distance better in our bars than they can in many restaurants. I want to be treated equal to those that already have their doors open. We’ve missed St. Patrick’s Day, we’ve missed Easter weekend, we’re going to miss Memorial Day weekend and we missed season.”
Anna Maria Island Beach Café bar manager Jason Benn, Sports Lounge bartender Courtney McGough, Drift In bartender Dan Cleary and Drift In patron Donald White also participated in the protest.
“I just want my barstool back,” White said.
“We want to get the bars back open again so everybody can get back to work and make money,” Joe Harris said.
Similar protests have occurred in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Daytona Beach and elsewhere in Florida.
On May 19, David Marshlack, owner of JWags Saloon in St. Petersburg, filed a lawsuit against DeSantis.
“We are going to have our day in court. This should be fun. Now they have opened movie theatres, massage parlors, breweries and the casinos, but bars can’t open still. Guess we are going to find out how they came up with this set of rules,” says the JWags St. Pete Facebook page.
Petition letter
Thompson’s May 19 petition letter said, “The Association of Independent Bars of Manatee would like to remind the governor, state and local governmental officials that our staff and employees are loyal, hard-working people with families that rely on them, who pay taxes and are proud members of our community. Many of them work long hours, have limited resources, and live paycheck-to-paycheck without a safety net or other support to help them.
“Our businesses offer our community an essential place for citizens to congregate, network and socialize. These businesses have been mistreated and discriminated against without due consideration or scientific analysis by the government’s unilateral decision to keep us closed without the opportunity to offer alternative and mitigating, operating procedures which would adequately protect our customers, employees and their families. The resulting hardship on our business, staff and employees is unfair and avoidable. We would hereby demand immediate consideration by the governor, state and local authorities of lifting the ban on the continued closing of bars and lounges,” the letter said.
The letter also addressed modified business practices that include hand sanitizing stations for patrons and employees, compliance with social distancing and CDC guidelines, single-use cups and masks worn by bar employees.
