When Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended the statewide COVID restrictions Monday she made it clear that not everything will reopen when they are set to expire on December 20.<\/p>\n
Now, struggling restaurant owners are staring down the very real chance they will stay closed through the new year.<\/p>\n
Local 4 News spoke with a Birmingham restaurant owner about his struggle to survive.<\/p>\n
The holiday season is a very important time for the profitability of many restaurants.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a real feeling that this is going to go on for more than that, I think we\u2019re gonna be done until probably after the holidays…I don\u2019t know why restaurants are paying the price for everything,\u201d said Nino Cutraro, owner of Bella Piatti in Birmingham.<\/p>\n
Cutraro pointed out that while restaurants are closed malls and stores are packed with people.<\/p>\n
Local 4\u2032s Dr. Frank McGeorge says there is a difference between the two.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, there is a difference with restaurants and bars printed on the fact that you cannot eat or drink with a mask on, and other issues include the fact that bars tend to be loud making it more likely that people are going to shout or get closer to each other, so they can actually hear, which is of course more likely to spread the virus,\u201d said McGeorge.<\/p>\n
Cutraro set out to stay open with outdoor dining. He spent $60,000 on a massive structure with socially distance seating infrared and propane heaters everywhere.<\/p>\n
In a statement released Monday the Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association fired back at the partial shutdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe restaurant industry is comprised of creative and resilient individuals, but for a growing number of them, this latest pause is the cause of their lost livelihood and well-being.\u201d change gfx \u201cwe firmly believe there is a better approach – one followed by 45 other states – that doesn\u2019t use blunt force closure of a single industry to resolve a shared crisis,\u201d read the statement in part.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended the statewide COVID restrictions Monday she made it clear that not everything…\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n