“I’m not an essential service. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, don’t come."

Bar Max in Denver is now open after being closed for much of the pandemic. Patrons can enjoy a cocktail inside only if they provide proof of vaccination. Owner Marshall Smith reopened the bar last Friday once he was fully vaccinated... “I have elderly parents who also have health concerns. I have a brother for whom I’m the caretaker for. I also have other underlying health conditions, so for me once I got to February, I was no longer willing to risk getting COVID because I made it that far,” Smith said. “Folks who have literally gone nowhere in the past year, folks who are immunocompromised, frontline workers in healthcare, educators who have been most exposed and impacted, they have come specifically and said to me, ‘This is the first time we have felt safe coming out in more than a year, and we appreciate you doing it.’ The folks who have had negative reactions haven’t been to the bar before, and it seems other bars might be a better option for them.”... “I’m not an essential service. If you don’t feel comfortable doing that, don’t come,” Smith said.