"Terry Cullen, the general manager of Tommy Joe's in Bethesda, calls the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 'the busiest night of the year.' He's worried business will be down 70 percent for Thanksgiving Eve because of the restrictions hours and capacity. Cullen says Tommy Joe's has put measures in place from partitions over the bar to daily deep cleanings to bringing in extra staff to monitor customers' mask usage — all expenses that cut into the bottom line, too. 'Our clientele knows that we are sticklers about it,' Cullen says. He thinks that the bars who can control their crowds are being punished by those who aren't bothering to try to follow the guidelines. 'We are doing what we have to do plus more and we'll have to get through it,' he says. 'We want it to stay open, we just want it to go to midnight to have a chance.'" - Adele Chapin
