Local bar adapting, hoping for good weather after order closes indoor service
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Bay City, MI (WNEM) — Running a restaurant or a bar was already hard enough.
“This is a tough business,” Kim Coonan said. “You’re buying yourself a job, you’re not making a lot of money.”
Because of the pandemic, restaurant and bar owners like Kim Coonan have been through the ringer. His Irish pub in Bay City was shut down for months. Finally, they’re back open.
“We’re just getting back on our feet,“ Coonan said.
Wednesday Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced bars can no longer have indoor seating, only outdoor is allowed in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“It’s going to be tough but if we need to protect the elderly and those whose health is impacted, I’m all for it,” Coonan said.
He is trying to figure out if and how the pub will be affected.
“It’s hard in a business like this, especially if it’s outside only, you’re relying completely on the weather,” Erin Wishman from Coonan’s said.
The order applies to bars based on their liquor and food sales and thankfully Coonan’s already set up outdoor seating.
They’re prepared to turn their driveway into more seating for their outdoor patio if they have to.
“We’re going to put more people out there and bring a big grill in and have a barbecue every day,” Coonan said. “We’re going to do whatever we have to, to survive.”
Other bars may not have the outdoor space.
“I feel for them, I really do,” he said.
We just have to hope the virus spread slows and that it doesn’t rain.
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