GREGG COUNTY, Texas — Roughly 1,000 bars across the State of Texas Saturday night for Freedom Fest, a statement against Gov. Greg Abbott's order for bars to remain close indefinitely.
When bars were told to close for a second time, the Machine Shed defiantly continued to open. The bar was among the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the state to force the governor to allow bars to reopen.
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"On July 4, TABC came out here and ave me a license suspension," Tonia Allen Parker, the owner of the Machine Shed, said. "Most bars got a warning, and I didn't get one. I got an immediate suspension."
Parker said she went through the proper protocols to remain open, including having food make up 40% of her gross annual sales, which is what TABC required. Gov. Abbott's order, however, says if an establishment's sales are 51% alcohol, it qualifies as a bar.
"They told me to close again. I'm not closing again. I went through the channels," Parker said. "I'm not a conspiracy person, but they are targeting me."
Parker said as a bar owner, she is struggling to keep her business alive and worries about her employees.
"Let us go back to work," bartender Kari Sharpe said. "That is our means, that is our way of life."
"I'm going to have to cancel bands [because] we're not making any money to say open," Parker explained. "We don't have any money left. We didn't get loans. A lot of us small, independent bar owners, there's about 7,000 in the State of Texas, many of us didn't get loans. We didn't get grants."
Parker said she is frustrated state regulations is forcing her business to remain closed while she believes similar businesses have been allowed to stay open.
"I'm going to continue to do this legally," Parker said. "The Machine Shed is going to continue to stay open and fight for their right along with other bar owners to be open along with everyone else during this pandemic and comply with all the laws they have been hit with."