A New York grocery chain says it entered a 'hornet's nest' when it ended its mask requirement but it was still the right thing to do

• Morton Williams, a grocery chain in New York City, lifted its mask mandate for fully vaccinated patrons.
• Its initial announcement brought a wave of backlash from customers.
• It's an example of the complications companies have faced while navigating the CDC's new guidance.

On May 17, New York-based grocery chain Morton Williams announced it would be lifting its mask mandate for fully vaccinated customers and workers on May 19. What followed could only be described as " stepping into a hornet's nest," according to an email from the grocery chain sent to its customers.

On May 13, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that fully vaccinated Americans will no longer have to wear face coverings in most indoor and outdoor locations, effective immediately. This sudden announcement may have signaled a "return to normal" for many vaccinated people, but it left private companies without much guidance on how to proceed.

Regardless, shortly after the CDC's announcement, several major retailers began dropping their mask mandates for fully vaccinated customers and employees (pending state and local face covering protocols).

And four days later on May 17, when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the state would follow the CDC's updated protocols starting May 19, Morton Williams decided to follow suit.

Morton Williams began receiving backlash

On May 17, Morton Williams announced it would roll back its mask mandate for fully vaccinated shoppers and employees by May 19, according to an email sent out to its customers. It also added that its stores wouldn't be requiring proof of vaccination because the store isn't "a police force, a medical clinic, or doctor's office that's equipped or trained to check people's vaccination records," Avi Kaner, the co-owner of Morton Williams, told Insider in an interview.

Like other retailers, Morton Williams is relying on the "honor system" for mask-less customers: "Surely the vast majority will abide by the rules, but there will be people who do not, which is another reason for people to get vaccinated," Kaner said, although other experts disagree with this.

Kaner felt the need to make the store's new mask policy "crystal clear and unambiguous," especially because a lack of clarity from the CDC's updated masking protocol had already begun causing issues in Morton William's stores. The day after the CDC updated its mask guideline for fully vaccinated Americans, Kaner began receiving calls from different locations reporting in-store "altercations" that stemmed from customers not wearing their masks. At that point, New York had yet to roll back its own mask protocols.

But shortly after the email was sent, the grocery chain began receiving several dozens of responses from customers upset by its decision to no longer require masks for fully vaccinated people.

"This is very disappointing," one email read. "We will shop elsewhere."

"You're endangering your honest customers," read another customer email.

But the supermarket chain took the time to respond to all of these customer emails, explaining its position: Morton Williams was still supportive of mask-wearing, but wanted to avoid the altercations it had seen following the CDC's updated protocols.

The follow-up email

The company decided to send another customer-wide mass email to provide additional clarification. This time, the email noted federal and state guidelines, the in-store altercations following the CDC's announcement, and the chain's "encouragement" of mask-wearing.

"We knew that we were stepping into a hornet's nest [by announcing the new mask policy], and that many would feel this is a premature decision better suited for a later day," a portion of the email read. "We knew we would have problems in either direction. We therefore looked to some leading companies for their decisions on this subject, including Trader Joe's, Walmart, Starbucks, etc."

Morton Williams still encourages mask-wearing in its stores, as indicated in both the follow-up email and signs posted outside the markets, pictured below. But by rolling back its mask mandate for fully vaccinated while still saying "okay" to masks, the grocery store created what Kaner calls "the best of both worlds."

It's a "personal decision," Kaner said. "One of our goals was to show our customers that we're being very balanced about this."

Shortly after sending the follow-up email, Morton Williams began receiving a flood of emails yet again. But this time, of the hundreds of emails it received, over 90% were positive responses, according to Kaner.

"For what it's worth, I find this message welcome and wise," one of the many positive emails read. "You have threaded your way through a complicated, emotional, often unreasonable situation - and come out well ahead of the pack."

But there were, of course, still the occasional negative responses, including one customer telling the grocery chain it was "bowing down to the unvaccinated idiots."

"'I'd rather be safe than sorry and I think you're making a mistake!" the email read. "I'll continue wearing my mask indoors, as I believe any intelligent, well-informed, scientifically literate person will do!"

Like many retailers and private citizens throughout COVID-19, Morton Williams found itself caught between two extremes. There are some people who are fully vaccinated but will still continue to wear two face masks and a face shield for a number of any personal reasons, while there are others who won't wear a mask, won't get a vaccine, and won't "trust the US government, Kaner said.

"I think the CDC is trying to do their best, but I'm not convinced they did a thoughtful job of thinking about the confusion because the majority of businesses in the US are still small businesses," Larry Barton, a professor of crisis management and public safety at University of Central Florida, told Insider. Barton suggests the CDC should've provided a warning or a timeline to allow small businesses to iron out the logistics.

But based on the number of positive responses Morton Williams received following its second email, the "silent majority are happy and relieved," Kaner said.

And despite the "hornet's nest," Kaner says Morton William's decision to go mask-free for fully vaccinated people is the "right thing to do."

"They feel as if they're being rewarded for being vaccinated, and they're reassured they see light at the end of the tunnel," Kaner said. "In a few weeks, it'll be a non-issue and a non-story in New York. If you just look at Florida or Texas, people are just used to it already, and they'll get used to it in New York."

Concerns over rolling back mask mandates

Morton Williams isn't the only private company that has faced complications over the CDC's new mask guidance.

Major chains like Walmart, Costco, and Trader Joe's have also already rolled back their mask mandates. But according to Barton, the majority of retailers in the US still require masks for employees specifically.

Barton is concerned that retailers that have already recalled their mask mandates may have been too "prudent": what if infections begin spiking again? And how do you prove a mask-less person is vaccinated?

"I have zero confidence if I'm a retailer that just because someone claims that they're vaccinated, that they are," Barton said. "And [if retailers] later have to return to mandated masks, there will be blowback, acrimony, and anger."

"It leads to betrayal, offense, and sometimes worse, and that's a reason not to jump and start ripping off masks right now," Barton continued. "I would be prudent and give yourself a lot of runway because we still have a period ahead of us that is filled with the unknown."