While schools all over the country closed and people begin to social-isolate because of the coronavirus, so did all the local restaurants. Restaurants were ordered to close their dining rooms by Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.
Nobody knows how long the COVID-19 strain will continue to force restaurants to shut their doors to dine-in customers, as highlighted by JHouse Juice co-owner Emma Kruse.
“We, obviously, don’t really know what is going to happen,” Kruse said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty right now. We don’t know if this is going to go on for three weeks or for two months, but both are just as likely.”
There is a lot of concern from restaurants not only for their own business but also for the wellbeing of their customers, according to the owner of Side Street Diner Meaghan Spicer.
“We have products going bad that we’ve had to throw away, customers that we are worried about that we’re not seeing and a lot of elderly customers as well,” Spicer said. “We’re worried about them especially.”
Sierra Station La Cantina owner Jeff Lee said he is determined to keep his doors open and take care of his staff for as long as possible.
“This restaurant has been here for 42 years,” Lee said. “I’m paying my staff, and I will pay for them as long as I can to keep them with me.”
Spicer assured all the necessary precautions are being taken in her restaurant in order to ensure both the safety of their staff and the safety of their customers
“We have sanitized and cornered off an area where people can come and get their carryout,” Spicer said. “We only allow one person at a time to come in and we sanitize in between customers.”
These are trying times for business owners but at the end of the day, they are just grateful to their customers for continuing to support them during this according to Kruse.
“We have continued to be busy and steady because we have awesome customers who want us to stay open,” Kruse said. “They are the ones who are calling for orders and in turn, supporting us. We thank our customers for that.”