KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Businesses are dealing with some confusion after Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly put reopening plans into the hands of individual counties.
The owner of Woodyard Bar-B-Que told 41 Action News his restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas, has been doing its best to keep up with the ever-changing guidelines.
“I think people are confused, to be honest with you," Ciaran Molloy said.
Woodyard Bar-B-Que sits in Wyandotte County, which will continue following Kelly's reopening plan. Molloy said employees will wear masks and gloves, while guests must social distance.
“We’re lucky here at Woodyard in that we have a huge front patio, a huge back patio and a huge inside, so there’s plenty of space," Molloy said.
Currently, Wyandotte County is in Phase 2 of reopening, despite the fact the plan is no longer being mandated statewide.
A spokesperson for Johnson County told 41 Action News the county is encouraging people to follow the state's plan, but officials there are not enforcing it.
The owner of Club Pilates in Leawood, Kansas, told 41 Action News he was excited to hear the county's decision.
“This is a great day, a great week for Johnson County, Kansas, in general, America, our family, that we’ve got our right to choose how we want to operate our businesses, given back to us away from the government," Patrick Copley said.
Copley called Kelly's reopening plan a "headache," saying it was too difficult to understand.
“There was a provision in the order that related to us and said that we could open, and then there was another provision that arguably related to us, which said that we could not open. We did not know what we could do," Copley said.
Businesses in Johnson County can now open back up with no guidelines to follow.
In Wyandotte County, face masks are encouraged, as well as social distancing. Travel is limited and no more than 15 people can gather in one area.
As the reopening process moves forward, Woodyard Bar-B-Que's business is improving.
“They’ve been like slowly but surely getting better; they’ve been kind of a nice curve up," Molloy said.
Phase 2 in Wyandotte County will remain in place until June 8, and county health officials will monitor COVID-19 data to determine the next step.
