Breweries and distilleries may stay open despite governor’s orders

Local breweries and distilleries are still open, while regular bars all around them are closed. That’s thanks to the way those businesses are classified.

On Wednesday, Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered all indoor bars in most of the lower peninsula to close in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Bars are defined by the state as establishments that make at least 70% of their revenue from the sale of alcoholic beverages.

Breweries and distilleries aren’t classified as bars because they are, instead, classified manufacturers and are bound by different rules.

Tibbs Brewing Company is one such establishment.

“We have a ‘manufacturing’ license and as such are exempt from this Order,” reads a post on their Facebook page. “We will have indoor and outdoor seating available.”

While their business classification is protecting them now, it isn’t bulletproof. If COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Michigan, the governor could again order all non-essential businesses to close.