Update on Re-Opening Nashville

April 23, 2020

Dear Hospitality Community:

We have a lot of news to share with you about Mayor John Cooper’s four-phase plan to safely reopen Nashville businesses, and its impacts on the hospitality industry. Reopening could start in early May if there is positive improvement of metrics for 14 days, and the city will only move to the next phase if there is positive improvement/stability in metrics for 14 days.

Public health and safety are the top priority, and cleaning, screening and social distancing protocols are included in each phase. For instance, employers will be required to screen employees for respiratory symptoms and temperature checks, with employees who register 100.4 degrees or higher required to leave the premises immediately.

In Phase 1, the city says residents should work from home if possible and wear masks in public. There are to be no gatherings over 10 people. Restaurants (dine-in) and retail would open at half capacity, along with other commercial businesses. Bar areas remain closed and no live music in restaurants. Bars, entertainment venues, and sports venues would remain closed. Other facilities that would remain closed include nail, hair, and massage salons and gyms/fitness centers.

Phase 2 says residents should work from home if possible, wear masks in public, and small gatherings up to 50 are allowed. Restaurants, retail, and commercial businesses could operate at 75 percent capacity. Bar areas remain closed and no live music in restaurants. Bars, entertainment venues, and sports venues would remain closed. Salons open for appointments only (no walk-ins and no more than 10 in the salon). Gyms/fitness centers would remain closed.

Phase 3 says residents should work from home if possible, wear masks in public, and small gatherings up to 100 allowed. Restaurants, retail, and commercial businesses operate at full capacity. Bars in restaurants open at 50 percent capacity but no standing, and live music is permitted. Bars and entertainment venues, along with museums, tours, attractions, and movie theaters, can operate at 50 percent capacity. Sports venues remain closed. Salons remain under appointment-only restriction. Gyms/fitness centers open.

In Phase 4, the city says work from home is optional, and wearing masks in public is optional but encouraged. K-12, non-residential schools can open and gatherings over 100 are permitted. All businesses open at full capacity, including sports venues. Cleaning, screening, and social distancing protocols remain in place.

More information about Nashville’s Roadmap for Reopening is at covid19.nashville.gov. This reopening plan is a major step forward, but we must stay the course. We need to continue practices like wearing masks and social distancing to get to Phase 1, and we must remain cautious and vigilant to get to Phase 4. Throughout the development of the reopening plan, we advocated strongly on behalf of our industry with the overall health and safety of residents and visitors as a priority.

We also want to share with you a new fund created for local artists. The Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville has announced the Greater Nashville Artist Relief Fund, designed to help sustain local artists with $500 grants. The Fund will be open to all artists at all levels of their careers, in a broad variety of disciplines, including visual art, dance, design, literature, theater, music, and more. The Fund will help these artists recover from lost income due to the cancellation of scheduled gigs or opportunities, layoff, or furlough due to the March 3 tornados and/or COVID-19.

Our friends at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Nashville have shared that they plan to resume the spring build season on May 30 – understanding the need to monitor conditions daily, complying with state, local, and CDC guidelines. If you can and are willing they could use volunteers and/or donations.

Finally, we know many of you are conducting Zoom calls with clients and partners. We have created some Nashville Zoom backgrounds so you can share the sites of Music City while you work. View and download the backgrounds.

We know this is a difficult time on so many levels. Know that there is a plan and we will begin to move forward keeping safety and public health at the forefront. For now, stay safe, stay home, and wash your hands!

Sincerely,
Butch Spyridon
President and CEO
Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp
visitmusiccity.com/covid-19