Opinions Differ as Antiquers Return for Fall
Not all antiques vendors in north Fayette County are happy about the County allowing the Fall Antiques Show to proceed later this month amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
“We’ve been closed since March for a very good reason,” said Danny Smith, co-owner of Carmine Antiques. “We’ve had many calls to go up to the shop and sell something on our porch to someone. We get there, and they’re not wearing a mask. They’re from Houston or Austin. It’s the local people I’m concerned about – the people who have to work in the restaurants and hotels.”
Fayette County Judge Joe Weber canceled the Spring Antiques Show back in March when the pandemic began. In an interview this week, Weber said he made that decision during a time when little was known about the virus.
“We didn’t know anything about it except that it was spreading like crazy,” Weber said. “On TV, there were pictures of emergency rooms overflooded. Everyone was scared. No one knew what to do. My thought was bringing thousands of people here over a six or eight day period without knowing anything about this, I didn’t know if our hospital could handle that. So I said, ‘We’re going to stop this, we don’t know enough about this, and we’re not going to take a chance.”
Weber said he thinks it was the right thing to do at the time.
Back in July, the Round Top Town Council appointed a committee to formulate a plan for conducting the fall show. The committee presented its plans to the County, which Weber approved last month.
The plan calls for occupancy limits at indoor venues, sanitation stations in outdoor venues, mask-wearing, and temperature checks for workers. Events that traditionally draw large crowds, such as the Prom-o-rama Ball, have been called off.
Weber said he consulted with community leaders in northern Fayette County, business and venue owners, and state officials including State Senator Lois Kolkorst before approving the plan.
“We determined that we think we can do this,” Weber said.
Smith said the recent outbreak at Fayette County nursing homes and the County Jail should have been enough cause to cancel the fall show outright.
“With the increase we’ve had, and it’s going to jump again, it seems that money is overruling this thing,” Smith said.
Smith said some of the people on the committee that formulated the plan are owners of antiques venues or wholesalers.
“(They’re) looking at making money,” Smith said.
“These tents are all walledup, people get in there and they’re not going to be wearing masks,” Smith said. “No one’s going to push them to wear masks, because we’ve already seen that. I quit going in (the convenience store) for that reason. People walk in there and they don’t wear a mask.”
When asked how much longer his store can stay closed before the company fails, Smith said he and his partner have decided to keep the doors shut until January, at which time they’ll make a decision about the future of Carmine Antiques.
“It’s not a political thing with use – my partner is a Democrat and I’m a Republican,” Smith said. “It’s not a financial thing for us. We just worry about these poor people who have no choice but to work.”
Weber pointed to several differences between the situation during the spring and this fall.
“Number one, there’s going to be less people here,” Weber said. “Number two, its going to be mostly outside. Number three, there’s going to be a different show. A lot of the eating and drinking and dancing, where people come close together, has been canceled. The venues that are inside will control the number of people in there. They’re going to mandate masks, all of those things.”
Furthermore, Weber said many of the venues have become year-round businesses in recent years. Weber said those business eshave the right to stay open as long as they follow state guidelines regarding the coronavirus, such as the 75 percent capacity rule.
“There are landowners and venue owners who count on these shows for their economic survival,” Weber said. “We shut them down once. Let me be clear, there is nothing more important than the safety and health of people in this County. But I do think we can do both. We’ve got to step out. If we shut some of these people down again, they’re done. They’re going to lose their land, their small businesses.”
Weber said the County would also station EMS personnel at the Antiques Show this fall to re mind people to wear masks, wash hands and stay socially distant.
“I strongly encourage people who do not think its safe, to not go,” Weber said. “If you’re an elderly person or someone more at risk with medical issues, do not go if you feel uncomfortable.”