During the months that Michigan restaurants were closed for indoor dining, many tried to survive by offering takeout and delivery. | Adobe Stock
During the months that Michigan restaurants were closed for indoor dining, many tried to survive by offering takeout and delivery. | Adobe Stock
Sue Wangler, owner of Wangler's Wagon Wheel in West Branch, gave passionate testimony recently before the Michigan House Oversight Committee about the anxiety of having to file for bankruptcy due to the COVID-19 restrictions still in place for restaurant owners.
Sue's husband won his fight against cancer two years ago, prompting the couple to buy their restaurant by dipping into their retirement funds. After surviving their first winter season as entrepreneurs, the pandemic hit, resulting in having to involuntarily close their doors for seven weeks, reported Bridge Michigan.
The Wanglers then decided to reopen their restaurant for three days a week offering takeout only. Once licensing fees and insurance bills arrived, Sue said they took out a loan and reopened their restaurant at half capacity. The state then ordered restaurants to ban indoor dining again between Nov. 18 and Feb. 1.
The couple considered filing for bankruptcy but instead spent $18,000 on four outdoor steel huts that include "ozone machines" and interior fog sanitizers. Although the pair have made adjustments to their eatery, they have established $165,000 of debt in the process, unsure of how to stay afloat.
The Michigan Restaurant and Lodging Association presented a reopening plan, tying health restrictions to daily COVID-19 positivity rates, which would allow capacity limits and curfews to adjust based on those metrics.
The capacity limit of 25% is a demon for Wangler. The restaurant typically has a 120-person limit indoors, but it's now only able to seat only 30 customers at a time with the restrictions in place.
“I’ve applied for every (government) loan out there, but I got zero,” Wangler said, according to Bridge Michigan. “We've not gotten any help. These loans are like a lottery.”
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer admitted that the last year has been the hardest for the restaurant business, while still defending her regulations. "Michigan is in a stronger place than most other places in the nation right now (because) we're being very thoughtful about incrementally re-engaging sectors of our economy that just inherently pose a higher risk," Whitmer said, according to reporting by Bridge Michigan.
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