One of the many things the pandemic has highlighted is the importance of mental health. So many of us have felt its effects one way or another, and now, some restaurants are taking it upon themselves to offer help to their employees.

“When it came to this, where there’s a complete societal breakdown, it was scary,” said Lee Wilson, a wine director for Bonanno Concepts in Denver. “We didn’t know if we were going to come back tomorrow.”

When the pandemic began, Banonno Concepts closed its 10 restaurants in Denver as it laid off close to 400 employees. It used that time to rethink how it wanted to operate as it leaned on people like Wilson for input.

“We just have been trying to do the right thing,” said Jacqueline Bonnano, creative director for Bonanno Concepts. “We asked our management staff what would make you stay? What would make this a happy job for you? Overwhelmingly, it had nothing to do with money; it was more about working fewer hours and having a quality of life.”

In October, the group hired a therapist full-time to work with its staff, a move the group believes is a first in the service industry. Nationwide, there is an effort to prioritize mental health in the hospitality industry. There are groups like Chefs with Issues, Ben’s Friends, and Healthy Hospo, which offer a place for those who feel the stress of the day-to-day to seek support from others in the industry. But few, if any, have taken it to the lengths Bonanno Concepts has. Their therapist is there day and night, and in times when few things can do what professional help can do.

“We had a death in our dining room about a month ago and there was a group of doctors dining in one of the restaurants and one of those doctors came to do life-saving measures on the diner at the other restaurant, so as you can imagine, everyone was impacted,” said Bonanno. “[Our therapist] was here that night. She was here the next day. She talked to our staff. She coached us through conversations that we could have with diners, and now we have someone to coach us through these nuances and to help us be better. And then, we take those to our personal lives at home to be better.”

The therapist does not see other patients, only ones hired by Bonanno Concepts.

“It’s invaluable,” said Wilson. “She’s always available, which is something you can’t get in the private psychiatry world. She’s got the time and it’s incredible.”

Sometimes we may struggle to find our way out of dark places but knowing there is a support system available can be enough to help us get started.

“Them seeing all of us day in and day out, and for them to take action without any sort of provocation, but out of genuine care and concern; it was relieving,” said Wilson.

Protesters converged in Austin, Texas, on Monday asking Gov. Greg Abbott to reconsider his decision to drop all coronavirus-related restrictions.

The organizers, which are a coalition of left-wing associations, called on Abbott not to fully reopen the state until 70% of all service workers are vaccinated against the coronavirus. While stats are not available on the percentage of service workers who have been vaccinated, the CDC says that 11% of Texans are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, as of Monday.

“Rescinding the mask mandate puts safety enforcement in our hands, which makes our jobs harder and more dangerous,” said the Amplified Sound Coalition.

Organizers launched a petition calling on Abbott to prioritize coronavirus vaccines for service workers.

“After months of not lifting a finger to protect us, and further putting workers in harm’s way, Greg Abbott has made it clear that he cannot be reached nor treated as a rational man,” said the petition. “That is why we are asking our community—the workers, business owners, customers—to join us in demanding that the COVID-19 Expert Vaccine Allocation Panel (EVAP) prioritize the vaccinations of food, beverage, and grocery workers.”

Abbott was among several Republican governors to lift mask mandates last week. Abbott and other governors cited an increased number of vaccinated residents coupled with a drop in cases. The US is averaging 60,000 coronavirus cases per day, which is down from a peak of 200,000 per day two months ago.

On Monday, the CDC issued new guidance which maintains a recommendation that the public continues to wear masks as vaccines are being administered throughout the population. The guidance, however, did stipulate that small groups of vaccinated people can safely gather without using masks.

But with the vast majority of the population remaining unvaccinated, public health experts were perplexed why Abbott and other governors were dropping mask mandates.

“It is quite risky to completely remove all of the public health measures and just act like there's no virus in the community when we know it is at an unacceptably high level,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with CNN last week. "I'll say it again. I think that's ill-advised.”

While Abbott is still encouraging mask wearing in public, he says that lifting mandates will help Texas’ economy.

“We do encourage people to continue to wear a face mask, to continue to practice safe practices that will ensure that we will be able to get everybody back to work,” Abbott said, “with Texas continuing to lead the United States of America and economic growth and job creation."

While Abbott cited economic concerns, some business owners weren’t convinced the time is right.

“What he's done is he's put the burden on the business now,” Mike Nguyen, Noodle Diner owner, told CNN.