Optimist Hall owners ‘evaluating’ options after videos show maskless Super Bowl party
This story was updated Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021:
The owners of Optimist Hall said they are reviewing a situation with one of their tenants and “evaluating all options” after videos surfaced of a crowded and maskless Super Bowl party.
Videos posted on social media Sunday show dozens of people without face coverings standing and dancing indoors at El Thrifty, which calls itself “a Mexican-inspired cantina, bar and gaming venue.”
The videos were posted on Twitter around 9 p.m. by Justin LaFrancois, publisher of alternative newspaper Queen City Nerve. The videos were pulled from public social media accounts, he said.
El Thrifty’s owners, Reid Olsen and Joe Lariscy, issued a statement to The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday evening that said the event was “not representative of who we are and what we stand for in our community.”
The statement said that while there were safety precautions in place — including third-party security staff and a mask mandate — at certain parts of the game, guests gathered in the gaming area unmasked “instead of being socially distanced as we always maintain.”
“We sincerely apologize to our community,” Olsen and Lariscy said in the statement. “We will continue to strive to be a safe venue for our guests, and our priority and focus will continue to be on the safety of the community and our staff.”
Optimist Hall’s owners, in a statement released to the Observer by Anna Mintz of the PR firm Sprouthouse, said the event at El Thrifty was in defiance of the food hall’s coronavirus safety protocols, and that they do not condone “such blatant disregard for COVID-19 at our property from any of our tenants.”
“Please know that the health and safety of our community and patrons is of utmost importance,” the statement said. “We are taking this situation very seriously, and can assure you that we will not allow it to happen again.”
On Wednesday, Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris said anyone who attended a gathering during the Super Bowl should quarantine and get tested five days after the last exposure.
“There was a good bit of evidence of large gatherings over the weekend, some related to the Super Bowl, some not,” Harris said. “Unfortunately, many of those folks did not have masks on and there was very little social distancing.”
It’s not the first such incident during the pandemic at El Thrifty, which is part of the Optimist Hall development just outside uptown. Videos circulated in December that showed people not wearing masks or social distancing at El Thrifty and other entertainment businesses, the Observer has previously reported.
Under Gov. Roy Cooper’s current stay-at-home order — which has been extended to Feb. 28 — bars and nightclubs can reopen at 30% capacity or 100 seats, whichever is less, for outdoor seating only. Restaurants can operate at 50% dine-in capacity. And, alcohol sales at bars and restaurants for on-premise consumption must stop at 9 p.m.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers have not issued any citations this month for violations of Cooper’s executive order on coronavirus, spokesman Blake Page said Tuesday.
CMPD has sought to enforce coronavirus measures through voluntary compliance and education with arrests or citations as a last measure. Page said the department also conducts weekly random checks and takes community complaints into account.
CMPD’s management of Cooper’s order “this past weekend was consistent with how we have and will continue to manage the orders on COVID,” Page said.
Mecklenburg County has experienced more than 90,000 coronavirus cases and 802 deaths during the pandemic. January was also the deadliest month of the pandemic so far for the county, the Observer has reported.
A health directive from Harris also has urged all non-essential activities be postponed or done virtually.
CMPD declined to say whether officers visited El Thrifty or any other venue during Super Bowl weekend and said it cannot comment on any investigation.
This year, CMPD has cited 12 businesses for violating the governor’s executive order:
▪ The Bar 316 on Rensselaer Avenue, three times in January.
▪ Explict Bistro and Lounge on Music Factory Boulevard, twice in January. The owners told WCNC last week that they feel they must continue operating to stay in business.
▪ 360 Lounge on Smith Corners Boulevard, twice in January.
▪ Ploutos Arcade and Dirty South Arcade on North Tryon Street, once each.
▪ Also: Jamaican Flava, Element 31, Queen Sheba, Tropix, The Fairwood 226, Lost and Found and Greystone Bar and Grill.
This story was originally published February 9, 2021 at 6:51 PM.
