SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — Officials in two suburban cities outside Memphis say they will allow personal care businesses like hair and nail salons to reopen May 6, breaking with Shelby County’s Back To Business Plan announced earlier this week.
Salons in Collierville and Bartlett are set to reopen May 6, officials in those cities say, following guidelines set by Gov. Bill Lee that allow those business to reopen at 50 percent capacity with social distancing rules in place (more complete rules are here).
At Headlines Hair Salon in Collierville, owner Brittany Foster said she’s doing all she can to comply with the requirements put out by the state. She started making the preparations when she saw the notice on Collierville’s website Thursday stating beauty salons, barber shops and other close contact businesses can open May 6, just like in other parts of Tennessee. The town called it “a new update” and said it would soon be reflected in the framework for the entire county.
Collierville isn’t alone. Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald said he felt the governor’s guidance offered enough measures to allow close-contact businesses to reopen safely and for Bartlett to part with the county’s plan.
“I’ve been looking for a way, and when the governor came out with his, I was satisfied,” Bartlett Mayor Keith McDonald said.
But Dr. Alisa Haushalter, director of the Shelby County Health Department, said Friday that a back-to-business directive had not been issued for hair and nail salons. She said the health department has the final word.
“We have not given approval for nail salons or barbershops or any of the aforementioned to open,” Haushalter said.
A representative for the governor agreed and said Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris would have the ultimate word. The spokesperson also said Harris could allow municipal mayors to make their own decisions, but it would ultimately be up to him.
Lee’s orders apply to 89 Tennessee counties that do not have independent health departments. However, Shelby is one of six counties mostly exempted from those orders. The county, which includes Memphis and six other cities, has its own plan that called for personal care businesses to remain closed until phase 2 of reopening, provided certain criteria have been met.
Shelby County has not yet entered phase one of the back To Business Plan, though officials announced Thursday that it will begin May 4 — more complete rules are here.
The suburban mayors, along with the mayors of Memphis and Shelby County, were unified when they announced their phased reopening plan earlier this week.
In the state’s plan, too, personal care businesses were to remain closed until phase 2 of the plan. But shortly after announcing the state’s orders, Lee reversed the rules for salons, allowing them to open earlier.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said as far as he knew, salons aren’t supposed to open in the city yet.
“I‘m going to rely on doctors to advise Memphis with regard to those establishments,” he said. “Originally they said it should be in phase two.”
McDonald, the Bartlett mayor, said he’s not sure there is a communication breakdown, but admits there is confusion on the issue.
“I guess people are waiting for the messaging at different times, that’s causing confusion,” he said. “I think some people are waiting until Monday.”
Germantown officials say they are still considering the salon issue.
“The City of Germantown is currently determining the best course of action in regards to reopening that service industry. The health and safety of personal service employees and its customers is at the utmost importance,” the city said in a statement.
All of this leaves business owners like Foster confused. For now, she says she’s listening to her mayor and plans to open next week — though she hasn’t felt confident enough to tell her staff.
WREG also reached out to the mayors of Arlington, Lakeland, Millington and Shelby County. None of them got back to us.
