John Rich was the first to open his business, Redneck Riviera, on Lower Broadway in Nashville last week, as part of Phase One of Mayor John Cooper’s plan to slowly reopen Nashville. The Big & Rich singer felt it was in the best interest of everyone, including his employees, to open, after being closed since mid-March, albeit with restrictions in place.

“I own that brand, I own Redneck Riviera, the building that it’s in,” John explained on the Today Show. “Those employees are like family members to me, the bands that play there are like our family. I wanted everybody to know that I had my temperature checked when I walked in, I had a mask and that it is open for business although not completely open like it has been in the past. The doors are open.”

John also praised the governing officials for allowing the reopening in a way that made sense, and was safe for everyone.

“Our state put in a lot of guidelines, a lot of phased information on how it would go,” John explained. “And then our governor actually gave the townships, the cities, the Metro areas, their own latitude to make decisions on how the phases should go. We actually went exactly by the rules, exactly as we were told.”

While John is requiring his employees to wear masks, he is not mandating it for his customers –– a decision that may seem risky to some, but to John makes perfect sense.

“I think that personal responsibility is a big thing right now,” Rich said. “I’ve seen certain governments around our country, I think, overreach with people. I think you’ve got to treat us like adults. We’re all very well aware that this virus is deadly, that this virus is nasty and that you don’t want to transmit it. And so a lot of our customers are actually wearing masks when they come in. We also have masks on hand if they don’t have one and offer them one.

“A great thing I’ve noticed, and I check in with my management every single day at Redneck Riviera, I said, ‘Has anyone broken rules or tried to get too close or argue with you about any of the rules?'” he continued. “And the answer has been ‘Absolutely not.’ I think that’s a testament to people’s personal responsibility right now.”

John previously acknowledged that, although customers should have masks, it wasn’t completely practical for them to where them in a restaurant.

“I don’t think you can eat a barbecue sandwich through a mask,” Rich said. “If you’re not eating or drinking, just pull it up and hang out and talk to your friends. If you want to take a sip, just pull it down.”

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Wortman Works