Restaurant owners, customers welcome return of dine-in service
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ALPENA -- Northeast Michigan restaurants inched one-quarter of the way back to normal on Monday.
Restaurants in Michigan were allowed to re-open for dine-in service at 25% capacity on Monday, with a 10 p.m. curfew, after state officials in November halted indoor dining in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Many restaurant owners and customers were excited to see familiar faces, and the return to in-person dining gave them a sense of normalcy that's been missing for months.
Cabin Creek Coffee owner Mollie Allen said the business has continued to offer take out, curbside, and delivery since mid-November.
"It was great to be able to see some of our regular customers come in again and use the tables and kind of get back to things being slightly more normal," Allen said.
Allen said the restrictions placed on restaurants changed the way business was done. She said most of her business came from deliveries to offices and she had to find ways to supplement sales at the business.
Meanwhile, customers trickled in to Mango's Tequila Bar for lunchtime service on Monday at a steady pace.
The restaurant's owner, Arturo Mendez, said Mango's had transitioned to a limited menu, and was not able to keep everyone employed based on "to-go orders" alone.
He said reopening on Monday felt a bit like they were opening for the first time, and said it would be "a little bit tough" transitioning back to normal.
"Right now to go back to dining (in) is going to be a little bit hard, but we'd rather be open than closed," he said.
Restaurant-goers Larry Doan of Bay City, Ray Speaks of Alpena, and Doug Moen, who works in Alpena, were among those who dined in at Mango's for lunch service on Monday. Doan said it was nice of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer "to give us our life back."
"We've been babysat long enough," he said.
Moen said restaurants are only back 25% and still have another 75% to go.
Several restaurants were closed on Monday, but planned a return to in-person dining today. The Court Yard Ristorante, The Fresh Palate, Red Brick Tap & Barrel, and Austin Brothers Beer Company are among those who will offer dine-in service today.
In Harrisville, Alcona Brew Haus Owner Sandy Arens said she has no idea what to expect when the brew pub returns to dine-in service on Thursday. The business has been closed Monday through Wednesday during the week because of the pandemic.
Arens said the brew pub had only been open 10 months when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. It has been open in the 10 months since the pandemic began, but Arens said the business has seen two totally different sets of regular customers -- pre-COVID customers she used to see but have not returned--and new customers, who have been frequenting the brew pub since June.
"I have no idea what to expect," Arens said. "I don't know if customers are going to have the confidence to go out, if there's pent up demand, or if they're scared."
Arens said when the brew pub reopens, she hopes customers are mindful of how hard the pandemic has been on restaurants. She asks that patrons be considerate and patient, especially if seating isn't immediately available or the establishment happens to run out of a particular menu item.
"We are really doing our best to try to accommodate people and make this work during this time," she said.
News Photo by Crystal Nelson
Alpena resident Ray Speaks, Bay City resident Larry Doan, and Doug Moen, who works in Alpena, dine in at Mango's Tequila Bar on Monday, the day restaurants could reopen to 25% capacity.