NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — At one of the most photographed spots in Music City, where the wings are long and the line to get there is even longer, the idea of everyone wearing a mask seems to have flown away.
NewsChannel 5 went out to the "What Lifts You" mural in the Gulch and discovered what happens when officers aren't around patrolling.
A group of teenage girls from Chattanooga says they knew masks were a must-have at least when you go inside. "I was not, at least not outside. We thought just like in places, restaurants and such when walking to a table and stuff, but we didn’t know you couldn’t be outside," said Lannah Teague, the birthday girl in the group.
We spoke to another group traveling from New Jersey, just for a chance to spread their wings. "Here was a little more open than South Jersey where our wonderful Governor has everything shut down," said Richard Lincoln.
Their new found freedom may not last for long. All this weekend, Metro Police has promised to enforce the mask mandate in tourist havens like the Gulch, Music Row and Lower Broadway.
Friday night, Metro Police issued a thousand verbal warnings, six citations and even made an arrest in an effort to enforce Nashville's mask mandate.
Metro Police will begin with a verbal warning, but if someone doesn't comply, it can work up to a citation or even an arrest.
"We follow the rules, you gotta do what you gotta do, that’s what everybody expects. Not saying we enjoy it but it’s the way it is," said Lincoln.
Lannah says if approached by an officer, she'll also comply. "I’ll tell him that we didn’t know but we’ve got them so we’ll put it on,' said Teague.
But the odds of tourists complying when officers aren't patrolling? It's on a wing and a prayer.
