Bar and nightclub employees are struggling Tuesday after Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered these establishments to close on the most profitable day of the year: St. Patrick’s Day.
“A lot of people in the service industry aren’t saving,” said Erin Feindt, a bartender in Atlantic Beach. “It’s more of a paycheck to paycheck industry.”
DeSantis ordered the establishments to shut down for 30 days amid the coronavirus.
“A whole month is going to be pretty scary,” said Jordan Lennard, a bartender in Atlantic Beach.
As employees are sent home and supplies go bad, many wonder if these establishments can withstand this measure.
“It’s going to be a tough one,” said Fernando Meza, manager of The Wreck in Jacksonville Beach. “It’s hard for our employees that depend on it.”
It’s tough enough to bring Meza and his coworkers to tears.
“I just wish I had a million dollars to help out for the month,” Meza said.
This order leaves many people in the industry scrambling to find other ways to make ends meet.
“Only thing I can think of is do some spring cleaning and sell clothes I don’t wear anymore,” Lanord said.
These employees hope that the public will rally around each other to make our country stronger than ever in the end.
“We’re the United States of America,” Meza said. “We’ve always persevered. It’s just, this is something I’ve never expected in my lifetime.”