Food and beverage industry voices concern over Gov. Whitmer’s reopening limits
(The Center Square) – Michigan restaurant patrons still have 10 days before they’re allowed to strap on the feedbag in public.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday announced dine-in services will be allowed to resume in the state due to significant declines in COVID-19 cases. However, restaurants will be limited to 25% capacity with a 100-person limit. In addition, a 10 p.m. curfew will be imposed.
“Reopening at 25% capacity is a start, but it’s not what we were hoping for or what our industry needs right now,” Michigan Licensed Beverage Association Executive Director Scott Ellis said in a statement. “Many establishments have been closed because carry-out sales weren’t enough to keep them open. We’re afraid a strict capacity limit like this will continue to keep those places closed.”
In a phone conversation with The Center Square, Ellis said 5% of Michigan’s bars and restaurants have shuttered permanently due to the governor’s and MDHHS’ shutdown orders. Additionally, he said only a third of Michigan’s food and beverage industry would be willing to open under the restrictions outlined by the governor on Friday morning.
“One-size-fits-all restrictions like these simply don’t make sense. A breakfast diner doesn’t have a problem abiding by a night-time curfew, but an upscale dining establishment in downtown Detroit does because people don’t typically frequent those places until later in the evening,” Ellis said.
“In respect to the 100-person limit, a pub and a large entertainment center are treated the same way under these restrictions despite the obvious size difference. If an establishment is able to abide by social distancing measures, they should be able to allow more customers in.”
According to the MLBA, 27% of the Michigan’s bars and restaurants face permanent closure within the next 30 days.
“At the end of the day, roughly 5 percent of bars and restaurants in the state have already closed for good. Overbearing restrictions like these will keep places closed because they’ll lose less money being closed than by being open at 25 percent,” Ellis said.
“These next couple of months are the most critical for our industry,” Ellis said. “What the governor and MDHHS decide to do in the next couple of weeks will make or break one of the largest industries in our state.”
Dine-in restaurant services have been paused since Nov. 17 and extended twice through the holiday season and the entirety of January. The governor noted the pause, initiated under the authority of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, will be allowed to expire Feb. 1 rather than immediately to allow restaurants time “to ramp up” for reopening, which allows them to add staff and order inventory.
Also on Feb. 1, the governor also will allow concessions at theaters, movies, bowling lanes, stadiums and casinos as well as permit personal services requiring mask removal. Effective Friday, Jan 22, attendance in large stadiums will be increased from 250 people to 500 people.
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