Las Vegas Valley small business owners prepare for face mask mandate

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    HENDERSON, NV (KVVU) — As the governor’s mandate to wear face coverings in public goes into effect, small business owners are making preparations ahead of time.

“We were not surprised. We thought it was going to happen sooner,” said Troy Sakaguchi, owner of Hi-Coffee Cafe in Henderson.

Sakaguchi has already placed a sign on his door informing customers of the need to wear a face mask in order to come inside.

“It’s not our rule. It’s the governor’s rule and we have to go by it,” said Sakaguchi.

His girlfriend Tamilene Perez, who helps out at the cafe, is preparing for people who refuse to wear a mask.

“If they don’t want to wear a mask then we will happily bring their order outside. And they can call us on the phone, they can order through post mates, that way they can avoid coming in if they don’t want to wear their masks,” said Perez.

Next door at Sin City Vapor, manager Lisa McGraw said she is prepared to do the same thing to keep customers happy.

“That is something we still offer is curbside on Fridays only so if they are that adamant about it, I’ll wear a mask and do like before put it in their back seat for them,” said McGraw.

At Ventano Italian Grill and Seafood in Henderson, owner Arnould Briand stocked up on sweet smelling droplets that customers can add to their masks to make the experience more bearable.

“It’s like mint.. It opens your sinuses and smells good,” said Briand.

According to the Nevada Medical Advisory Team’s guidance on the directive, enforcement will fall on business owners.

If a customer is not wearing a mask, they will be informed of the new mandate.

Sakaguchi and Briand both have masks available if a customer does not have one.

If a customer refuses to wear a mask he/she will be asked to leave.

Any customer that becomes confrontational could be subject to a visit from police.

Sakaguchi, McGraw and Braind all say they are going to comply with the mandate and are prepared to turn paying customer away for not adhering to the new rule.

“It’ll be tough. We hate to lose customers but like I said it’s not our rule and if we lose a customer that doesn’t want to respect the governor, than it is what it is. We’ll just get a new customer that will respect it,” said Sakaguchi.

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