Two Memphis gay bars among the first to require patrons to be vaccinated against COVID-19 – Commercial Appeal
- Two Memphis bars are now requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination before entry is allowed.
- The Pumping Station will begin requiring proof of vaccination on Aug. 12
- At Dru’s Place, a negative COVID-19 test taken in the last 48 hours can be used as a substitute
While low vaccination rates continue to assist the rapid spread of the delta variant of COVID-19 in Memphis, two bars are now requiring either proof of vaccination, or a recent negative COVID-19 test before entry is allowed.
Two Midtown LGBTQ bars, Dru’s Place and The Pumping Station, are among the first private establishments in Shelby County to introduce a proof-of-vaccination policy.
Both establishments announced their new policies via social media.
At Dru’s Place, a negative COVID-19 test that has been taken in the last 48 hours can serve as a substitute for proof of vaccination.
The Pumping Station will begin requiring proof of vaccination on Aug. 12, according to owner Robert Taylor. Prior to Aug. 12, proof of vaccination will earn you discounts on drinks.
For Tami Montgomery, the owner of Dru’s Place in Midtown, the decision is squarely based on a desire to protect her community.
“I pay attention to the percentages, as far as the number of the total number of cases, and the number of people who are vaccinated that are contracting COVID, versus the number of people who are not vaccinated. And the numbers are fairly staggering,” said Montgomery. “So we felt like when we broke it down, the safest thing that we could do for our staff, our entertainers, and our customers is to require a vaccine.”
Currently, 45% of Shelby County’s population is vaccinated. That total includes children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible for any COVID-19 vaccines.
And while vaccination rates lag, ICU and acute care beds are filling again with people seriously ill from COVID-19. Hospital officials have said this round of hospitalized COVID-19 patients are trending younger compared to previous surges of patients.
The vast majority of these critically ill patients are not vaccinated, officials have said.
Montgomery said in the case of her bar, requiring masking isn’t enough. Patrons tend to slip their masks up and down while taking a sip. And if a patron is routinely removing their mask, that means they are constantly touching a piece of protective fabric worn over the mouth and, “everything they touch is going to have whatever germs on it,” Montgomery said.
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So far, Montgomery said the announced decision has been met mostly with support.
“I fully expected some backlash,” she said. “But, I have gotten a lot more positive comments than negative, I can tell you that.” Montgomery’s decision, she said, wasn’t a hasty one. She thought about it for a few weeks before enacting the policy.
She hopes that other establishment owners will follow suit. In a year that has been punishing for the restaurant and entertainment industry, enacting a vaccine requirement is a way to regain a measure of control and ensure your patrons are kept safe.
“I don’t know that they will go with another shutdown,” Montgomery said, referring to the COVID-19 joint task force. “This time, I have no idea. I don’t know what goes on in the health department or the city council’s or any of that crap. But I know that I would much rather make this decision. And it’d be my decision rather than someone telling me to do it.”
Both Dru’s Place and the Pumping Station have customer bases largely comprised of LGBTQ individuals.
The memory of the AIDS epidemic, Taylor said, isn’t far from his and co-owner Steve Murphy’s mind. The AIDS epidemic was considerably worsened by a lack of government intervention.
“There are a number of people in the gay community who have issues with their immune systems. We’ve always been concerned with that at The Pumping Station, in the 20 years we’ve been here,” Taylor said.
As queer-friendly establishments take steps to ensure their communities stay safe, Taylor is asking his counterparts across the city to act with the same amount of urgency and consideration for those they serve.
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“Please do it,” Taylor said of vaccine requirements. “It truly needs to be done. We’re in the midst of an area where the delta variant is out of control, and we need to do what we can to protect our fellow citizens and encourage other people to get vaccinated.”
Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.