As the fall semester begins at MU, local businesses in Columbia are balancing customer satisfaction and the city’s changing COVID-19 policies. The arrival of MU’s over 31,000 students is accompanied this year by the threat of spreading the virus — but some businesses eagerly anticipate the sharp influx of customers.

Columbia City Council rejected a bid to reinstate a COVID-19 mask mandate on Aug. 9 after the initial mandate expired on May 12 of this year. Sara Humm, public information specialist for the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services, said the department “strongly recommends” wearing masks and social distancing, but does not support a mask ordinance because “we have what we need” to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Columbia. 

Humm said Columbia has “tools in the toolbox” — regularly available vaccines and social distancing — that prevent the county from needing to reinstate any mandates. However, Humm said businesses still have the right to instate their own rules regarding mask-wearing. 

With the absence of formal rules regarding masks, businesses have taken enforcement into their own hands. 

Some businesses like Yellow Dog Bookshop have kept strict regulations on mask-wearing and social distancing in their stores. Yellow Dog limits store capacity to eight customers at a time and highly recommends customers wear a mask while shopping. Another local bookstore, Skylark Bookshop, requires customers to wear a mask while shopping indoors. 

As businesses monitor how their customers react to masks, some have developed a more lax approach. Lakota Coffee Company used to enforce mask-wearing even after the city-wide mandate expired. Now, it lets customers decide whether to wear one or not, general manager Andrew DuCharme said.

“It got to the point where half the customers were wearing a mask because we asked them to, and then it got down to every 2 out of 10 customers, and then it was like one random customer throughout the day would wear a mask … it just gets too complicated when there’s not a mandate,” DuCharme said.

Lindsay Picht, a barista at Shortwave Coffee, said Shortwave doesn’t enforce social distancing, but distances its tables from one another to minimize the transmission of COVID-19. The store doesn’t require customers to wear masks, but Picht said she and the other baristas choose to wear them. She also said customers are generally accommodating of restrictions and will wear a mask if asked. 

“We are handling food, we are handling drinks and we want to be careful in how we handle them,” Picht said. 

After a difficult year, DuCharme said he welcomes the surge of new and returning students; the dramatic change requires extra preparation, but is “a good problem to have,” and well worth the payoff.

“It’s been a long, long year for a lot of places,” DuCharme said. “Whether you visit myself or another local restaurant or cafe … we really appreciate your business. We’re excited to have the students back. We’re excited to have Columbia opening back up.”

Edited by Emmet Jamieson | ejamieson@themaneater.com