MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – One man in Macomb County is using Facebook Live to promote restaurants amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s not the government, it’s us. It’s we the people. And we all have the responsibility to do whatever it takes in times like this to help each other, especially during Christmastime,” said Tom Sokol.
By Day, Sokol is a family man and works in insurance. By night, he hits the streets in Macomb and Shelby townships to highlight small family-owned restaurants struggling with no indoor dining due to Michigan’s COVID-19 restrictions.
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“They’re struggling with overhead. They’re depleting their savings, their rent still has to be paid, they still have to keep employees on staff, their insurance has to be paid. Their overhead is killing them. They don’t have enough coming through carryout,” he said.
Sokol said many owners tell him that carryout accounts for 20% of business.
He’s now getting requests from restaurants and patrons.
“I have a whole lot list of people to call back who want to us, to come out and highlight their business,” he said. “They (patrons) are taking pictures. They are posting like ‘Hey, I went there. I didn’t know that place was there.’”
The current restrictions are effective through Jan. 15, 2021.