Texas bars will ‘Turn up the Lights’ Friday night in solidarity

The lights will be on, music will be playing, but the bars won’t have any customers

SAN ANTONIO – Some San Antonio bars will turn on their lights on Friday night — but they won’t be for customers.

They’re participating in an initiative by the Texas Bar and Nightclub Alliance called “Turn up the Lights" which encourages bar owners and employees to turn on their lights and music from 6 to 10 p.m. to show community members that they’re still there and are eager to reopen.

“We want to show the community that we’re ready to open back up and do so with a safety plan in place," said Rob Martindale, owner of Big Hops.

Jody Newman, who owns The Friendly Spot with her husband, said they will also be participating.

“We just want people to know we’re here," Newman said. "We just really look forward to safely serving our friends again like we have the past 10 years.”

Martindale and Newman spoke to Steve Spriester Thursday about a statewide plan to open bars safely. You can read more about that here.

You can watch the latest segment in the video player above.

Until the crisis is over, KSAT News is stepping in to try and separate the facts from the fiction surrounding the new coronavirus.

Every weekday night during the 6 p.m. broadcast news and during the streaming KSAT News at Nine, we will have experts on to answer your questions and give the latest information about COVID-19.

At around 6:30 every weeknight, our anchors will question experts live, and then, on the KSAT News at Nine, they’ll answer viewer questions submitted through the KSAT.com SAQ article. (You can also ask your question in the prompt below.)

Facts can fight fear, and in times like this KSAT wants to do more, because you should expect it.


About the Authors:

Rebecca Salinas is an award-winning digital journalist who joined KSAT in 2019. She reports on a variety of topics for KSAT 12 News.

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.