Ft Worth Times

Chris Polone didn’t set out to be the leader of a movement when he defied Gov. Abbott’s COVID-19 orders this summer, but he has gladly stepped into the role.

“I'm honored,” Polone, owner and operator of Fort Worth-based Rail Club Live, said. “It's a massive burden but a good one. We've come to learn that a 51-percenter is not a type of business. It's a mentality. It's really all that stands between us and losing our rights.”

As previously reported, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) suspended Polone’s license in July after Rail Club Live remained open despite Gov. Abbott’s June 26 executive order requiring the closure of all bars that receive more than 51% of their gross receipts from alcoholic beverage sales.

Since then, Polone has become the voice for 22,000 51-percent bar owners forced to close their businesses. The name of the group is Children of Liberty.

The overall health of the Texas economy remains severely depressed, being at the lowest levels since 2009 despite some improvements since the beginning of the pandemic, according to media reports. 

“Every single one of my employees has been working side jobs to stay alive,” Polone told the Fort Worth Times. “Some bartend at other establishments that are not 51 percenters and others have day jobs. They are all unwavering. They will not back down. They've been standing with me throughout. It's become more of a moral stance than anything.”

Polone’s Stand For Something Group Live LLC is among a group of 15 owners who filed a lawsuit against Gov. Abbott and the TABC on Aug. 25 in Travis County Court.

“This shutdown had nothing to do with public safety,” he said. “Corruption is at the root of all this and that’s what we'll prove in court. They have violated our First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and 14th Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution so I’m sure we’ll end up in the Supreme Court. That's how far we're willing to take it at this point.”

Polone is particularly sore about Abbott’s decision to allow retail stores to open up to 75% occupancy, but not 51-percent bar owners.

“Public safety apparently boils down to the gross revenue generated by hot dogs as opposed to gross revenue generated by Bud Light beer so it's not the number of hot dogs you sell, it's the money that you generate,” he said. “If it’s true that (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission) cares about small business owners, it would be pitching safety, operating procedures to the state of Texas to allow us to reopen and not food and beverage permits that cost us $700.”

Polone is confident that if Rail Club Live were allowed to open, it would be a safe environment for patrons.

“I was a hazmat specialist for 10 years,” he said. “I used to make these plans for a living and those same plans are being implemented in other bars per executive orders and in other states.” 

Further, allowing 51 percent owners to open would provide them with the ability to generate revenue and survive the pandemic, Polone added. 

“It would restore our dignity and pride to have the ability to feed ourselves without having to rely on others to carry us through this,” he said.