March 20, 2020

Mayor Paul TenHaken is calling on businesses to take more steps to limit the number of people gathering in one place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We need more of it (social distancing),” he said at a Friday morning news briefing.

“You … as business owners and operators, must be adjusting your business practices to accommodate that.”

TenHaken said he continues “to see and hear of businesses who aren’t taking this seriously enough, who aren’t adjusting their business models or their business practices, who are open for business as usual,” he said.

“We’re in a pretty critical stage right now where I know, very clearly I know, the economic ramifications of asking businesses to do what we’re asking them to do. States all around us have mandated these things and made it within law to either close businesses or enforce some of these practices. We’re asking businesses to do this.”

TenHaken said there have been a lot of calls to his office from employees worried their employers are not taking social distancing seriously enough.

“If you can close your doors … we’d be very supportive of that,” he said, calling on all residents to stay home if they’re not feeling well.

“I have two or three members of my executive team that are working remotely because they have a cough or tickle in their throat. Stay home. It’s not worth it. Businesses, my message to you is to do the right thing. Take the steps you can take to limit gatherings. If you can allow your employees to work from home, please do so.”

The mayor recognized the owners of Wileys bar and restaurant in downtown Sioux Falls for making the decision to close Thursday night until April 1.

“They said a certain segment of the population is not taking social distancing seriously enough, and they felt it was their responsibility to close their doors,” he said.

“The owners of PAve reached out to me. They made the same call because they felt it was best for their employees as well as their patrons, so I want to lift up those businesses, thank them for that and encourage other businesses to think about doing the same.”

That downtown bar and restaurant also is closed until April 1. 

“Because we love you, we want to do our part in helping everyone stay as safe and healthy as possible,” it said on Facebook while sharing a photo of its building.