Bars owner in Indianapolis prepares for New Year’s Eve during pandemic

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Bars and restaurants have taken a significant hit during the pandemic with COVID-19 regulations.

But in Marion County, where the health department’s capacity and mask restrictions are no longer in place, small businesses could make up for any losses in the new year. The New Year’s Eve countdown begins now for the owner of the Burnside Inn on Mass Ave bar.

“We will have a piano playing throughout the evening downstairs. On the second floor, we have a band playing. We will have champagne toasts. We are going to full-tilt boogie as if there will be a large crowd,” Howe said. “We are a lounge. People can sit off on their own and not be necessarily on top of someone else.”

COVID-19 guidelines in Marion County are left up to the discretion of each business.

“We aren’t going to require masks or anything like that because the city does not require them at this point,” Howe said.

The bar owner says he has policies in place for his employees. “My staff is vaccinated, and most of them are boosted. We almost feel like it’s on the customer and how safe they feel,” Howe said.

Howe adds that it’s up to the customer if they decide to come out or not to celebration the end of one year and the start of another.

Max Masson and his girlfriend choose to bring in the New Year quietly after noticing people around them getting sick over the holiday.

“At a Christmas party, we went to a bunch of people, went out to the bars and got COVID. We are just planning a get-together with a couple of our friends. We are going to stay in and pop some champagne,” Masson said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing masks indoors around large crowds.

If you choose to celebrate with a night on the town, Howe says, do what’s best for you.

“A lot of the bars and restaurants, from what I can tell in this area, are not making people wear masks. I don’t think you should ever look down on anybody for wearing a mask. That is their personal choice,” Howe said.