Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association President & CEO Justin Winslow says his organization is profoundly disappointed in the decision to close the industry to indoor dining for three weeks beginning on Wednesday. Winslow has issued the following statement tonight:
“We recognize that there are no easy decisions right now and so we have an appreciation of the challenge before Director Gordon and all Michiganders as we continue our fight against COVID-19. That said, we are profoundly disappointed by his decision to shutter restaurants for a second time this year – this time with no safety net of federal stimulus dollars to soften the blow to already ailing operators and employees. While this decision will absolutely lead to a catastrophic economic fallout, the human toll on restaurant owners and their employees will be dramatically worse than what Director Gordon is attempting to mitigate through this Order based upon the department’s own transmission data.
We were hopeful that eight months into this pandemic that we could collectively recognize that there is an inherent and insatiable desire for humans to congregate, often over food. Shutting down dine-in service removes the ability to accommodate that natural human desire in a highly regulated, sanitized, capacity-limited and appropriately spaced setting in a restaurant. Instead, it will drive that behavior to innumerable residential social gatherings over the holidays, which have already proven to be super-spreader environments.
To consider:
- The COVID-19 Outbreak Investigation data tracked by the Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) attributes approximately 4.4-person of all outbreaks to restaurants statewide.
- Despite serving millions of Michiganders each day, there are a total of (5) investigations statewide involving a restaurant patron.
- MRLA survey data suggests more than 40-person of restaurants will close, at least temporarily, if dining rooms are closed.
- Approximately 250,000 employees are likely to be laid off from restaurants over the holiday season. With no federal funds and an exhausted Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, it is unclear where the revenue will derive to finance the influx of claims.
- If the closure is prolonged and federal stimulus dollars are not made immediately available, upwards of 6,000 more restaurants will permanently close by spring. For the record, approximately 2,000 restaurants have already closed their doors permanently in Michigan in 2020.
- Closing the restaurant industry will again wreak havoc on the supply chain, which will have an outsized impact on Michigan’s broader economy and possibly imperil basic supplies from reaching Michiganders.”
