Restaurants and bars to open again to in-person service

READY FOR in-person dining to return to The Lighthouse Restaurant are owner Brian Bannasch (front), and staff members Tony Sobczak (left) and Scott Kennedy. (Photo by Peter Jakey)
by Peter Jakey–Managing Editor

Starting Monday, restaurants and bars will be allowed to open to indoor dining at 25 percent capacity, with one change that was not in place in 2020, there will be a 10 p.m. curfew in place where all food and drinks will have to be off tables at that time.

Tables will need to be 6 feet apart with no more than six people per table. 

Additionally, the order from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) will allow concessions at movie theaters, casinos and stadiums. 

“The pause has worked. The efforts we have made together to protect our families, frontline workers and hospitals have dramatically reduced cases and we have saved lives,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer during a press conference last Friday. “Michigan continues to be a national leader in fighting the virus, and we must continue working to keep it that way.” 

The Lighthouse Restaurant owner Brian Bannasch is getting ready to open his doors again and may be one of only a handful of Rogers City restaurants that will have in-person dining. He also does not believe the 10 p.m. curfew is going to hurt his business. https://www.restaurantji.com/mi/rogers-city/the-lighthouse-restaurant-/

READY FOR in-person dining to return to The Lighthouse Restaurant are owner Brian Bannasch (front), and staff members Tony Sobczak (left) and Scott Kennedy. (Photo by Peter Jakey)
READY FOR in-person dining to return to The Lighthouse Restaurant are owner Brian Bannasch (front), and staff members Tony Sobczak (left) and Scott Kennedy. (Photo by Peter Jakey)

“From what we have seen, the super-spreader events were college kids packed into bars,” said Bannasch. The last time The Lighthouse was open, it was only to 50 percent capacity.

“Fortunately, we have a big place and have a lot of square-footage that we can count,” he continued. “Our banquet room would count for seating, but we are not going to utilize it.”

 Nautical Lanes was planning to re-open to league play, Monday, before the latest executive order was issued. A letter was sent out to bowlers about a month ago.

“We were going to open Feb. 1, under whatever guidelines were in place,” said Bannasch. “If it was going to be 100 percent masks and no food and beverage, we were going to open. Fortunately, everything will fall into place.” He still expects to lose some people, who are going to be leery with a jump in local statistics. 

“I believe it is going to be 10 to 20 percent won’t be back until the fall,” said Bannasch. “With what I’m reading, we should be back to normal in the fall.”

MDHHS had been closely monitoring three metrics for stabilization or declines over the past several weeks. Michigan continue to see improvements in these metrics which has allowed for additional relaxing of protocols and reopening of activities. 

In recent days:  

–Hospital capacity dedicated to novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients has been in seven-week decline, with current capacity at 9.9 percent for beds with COVID-19 patients. Peaked at 19.6 percent Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2020. 

–Overall case rates: currently at 225 cases per million. Peaked at 740 cases per million Saturday, Nov. 14, 2020 plateaued after a decline to 239 Friday, Dec. 25, 2020 and has been in decline for 11 days.  

–Positivity rate: currently at 6.8 percent and declining.  

“The safest course remains to support your favorite restaurant with carryout, delivery or outdoor dining,” said Robert Gordon, MDHHS director. 

“If individuals choose to eat out, there are two things they can do to make it much safer: go out only with members of thei

r own household and choose a restaurant participating in the Michigan COVID-19 Safer Dining certification program.”

The voluntary Michigan COVID-19 Safer Dining program allows food service establishments to become certified by having their ventilation system inspected and submitting their inspection report to the state indicating they are optimizing airflow. Once certified, businesses will be featured on the Michigan.gov/COVIDSaferDining website and receive a copy of their certification to post at their establishment to alert diners of their participation. 

Funding is proposed for food service establishments to participate as part of the $10 million included in the recent supplemental budget request.