Some restaurants reopen as “stay-at-home” ends

Monday was the grand reopening for some restaurants in the Kalamazoo area. That’s after Governor Gretchen Whitmer lifted stay-at-home orders meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Michigan.

Bars and restaurants are now allowed to serve food and drinks in-house as long as they limit seating to 50% capacity and observe certain safety protocols.

That was a big deal for restaurants like Fletcher’s Pub in Texas Corners and Tibbs Brewing in Kalamazoo.

“We’ve had manager meetings weekly, so every employee in our company has went through a ‘COVID-101’ class,” said Chris Housler, owner of Fletcher’s Pub, in an interview with MLive. “So we’ve been instructed on the proper way to do things.”

Not every restaurant is so eager to get back to business. Food Dance in downtown Kalamazoo is waiting until June 16 to reopen. According to a post on their Facebook page, they will reopen with just half their pre-pandemic staff.

“It’s taken a long time and some pretty high-level math to try and balance what we can offer with the 50% seating restriction, be profitable, serve great food, and give you great experiences,” reads the post.

You can read more here.