Michigan restaurants have been closed for indoor dining since Nov. 18 and are expected to reopen Monday, Feb. 1. | Stock Photo
Michigan restaurants have been closed for indoor dining since Nov. 18 and are expected to reopen Monday, Feb. 1. | Stock Photo
The food and beverage industry is taking it on the chin during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the state of Michigan has extended its current ban on indoor dining until Monday, Feb. 1, compounding an already significant cost for the restaurant industry.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer extended the ban, which began on Nov. 18, the second such ban the state has enacted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The first lockdown in March contributed to the the loss of 977, 200 jobs in Michigan and helped send unemployment soaring to 23.8%, Michigan Capitol Confidential reported. The lockdown was supposed to end April 13 but instead lasted 56 days, while the current lockdown will span 75 days, if not longer, should Whitmer choose to extend it past Feb. 1.
The current lockdown is proving just as costly, as a recent survey reported that as many as 5,600, or 33%, of Michigan's restaurants expect to close within the next six months. As the restaurant industry attempts to stay afloat, the state government has grown during the pandemic from 47,324 full-time jobs to 47,522 in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.
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