During the months that Michigan restaurants were closed for indoor dining, many tried to survive by offering takeout and delivery. | Norma Mortenson/Pexels
During the months that Michigan restaurants were closed for indoor dining, many tried to survive by offering takeout and delivery. | Norma Mortenson/Pexels
Michigan has been battling health restrictions and business closures for nearly a year, and as the COVID-19 pandemic is finally coming under control, restaurant owners are begging for some reasonable adjustments to those regulations.
Bridge Michigan reported that a local restaurant owner, Sue Wangler, testified before the Michigan House Oversight Committee, explaining the gravity of her situation amid the ongoing restrictions imposed on local businesses.
Owner of Wangler's Wagon Wheel, Wangler has had a rough time throughout the pandemic: She and her husband had to take out multiple loans to stay in business, closed and then reopened to 50% capacity, and then closed again for nearly three months. The restaurant invested in plastic bubbles for safer outdoor dining, but Michigan's harsh winter conditions ruined them in a matter of weeks.
Instead, the restaurant had to invest in steel structures to help sanitize the air — which cost $18,000. Now, the business can only accommodate 25% capacity, which is especially difficult given the fact that they have spent $165,000 on the restaurant during the last year.
Despite this and similar testimonies, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer claims that the policies she put in place have saved lives and helped to slow the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. However, cases numbers are falling and with the decreasing rates, industries are pushing for more freedoms to be given back to businesses.
The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association has proposed a plan for reopening, using a set of criteria to determine operations. These parameters would include COVID-19 testing positivity rates and the tightening or loosening of capacity limits and curfews based on the severity of the current situation.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Michigan has had 581,403 cases of COVID-19 and 15,362 related deaths, as of Feb. 23, according to Michigan.gov. Even so, restaurant owners argue that their venues are not to blame, as the virus’ rate has not risen dramatically, even with reopening since Feb 1.
On Feb. 11, the state and local health officials in Michigan were looking into 736 new, as well as ongoing outbreaks throughout the state, and only four were related to restaurants or bars, reported Bridge Michigan.
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