DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Some businesses in Volsuia County worry Daytona Beach's mask mandate will hurt their bottom line.
The city mandate requires most people to wear a mask when they are inside and cannot socially distance.
Watch: Keeping track of Central Florida face mask mandates
Some businesses worry that not only will they have to buy masks to give out to customers, an added expense to take on, but also they may lose those customers to other cities that do not have the mandate.
Tia Cori's Mexican Restaurant in Daytona Beach is starting to see things pick up as COVID-19 restrictions for restaurants start to loosen up. But the restaurant owner, Benjamin Parra, said revenue is still down almost 50% from where it was before the pandemic.
“We will hang in there as long as we can,” Parra said. “If it means shortening or menu, eliminating certain items, we will do it.”
If you need a mask pic.twitter.com/vNScr5I5jY
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Another thing the restaurants will now have to do now is mandate masks to customers.
Police are not quite sure how they'll enforce the mandate yet and neither are some businesses.
“It’s an expense too to give a mask away,” Parra said. “But to keep the customer happy, that’s what we have to do it.”
Watch: Seminole County issues face-covering order for residents, visitors as coronavirus cases climb
The added expenses of buying masks for customers is not the only thing businesses have to worry about. Some people have already said they will avoid shopping in Daytona Beach if they're required to wear a mask.
The absolute impact this mandate has on a business's bottom line is still up in the air.
Currently, there is no penalty for not wearing a mask, only a verbal warning.
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