DETROIT – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recommended, but didn’t require, restaurants pause indoor dining for two weeks. She made that request on Friday.
Some restaurants in Metro Detroit took the recommendation to shut down indoor dining, but it appears that a majority of them decided to stay open.
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Sean Katchuba is the general manager at Mootz Pizzeria in Downtown Detroit.
“Actually I was thankful that it was only a recommendation and not a mandate because recommendation means you can if you want, but we don’t, we don’t think we need to,” Katchuba said.
In Midtown, the Traffic Jame and Snug restaurant decided to keep their restaurant open on weekends but keep it closed during the week. Scott Lowell is a co-owner of the restaurant.
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“We’re certainly grateful that it wasn’t a mandate,” Lowell said.
Lowell said even though it wasn’t a mandate, it still affected the amount of people who wanted to dine out.
Katchuba said he’s seeing more and more people eager to get out and eat inside restaurants.
Lowell said times are still extremely tough for restaurants but he’s confident this struggle will be over soon.
Many restaurants said the hardest part about being open is holding onto employees. With the uncertainty of their jobs sticking around, they’re seeing wait staff and cooks look for careers in other industries.
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