By K.D. Norris
Tommy Brann, state legislator and casual restaurant owner, admits he is in a unique position when it comes to reacting to the latest public heath order, announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over the weekend and set to close restaurants to inside dining, among other impacts.
On one hand, Rep. Brann said to WKTV today, Nov. 16, he knows there is need to act to curb the recent negative public health trends resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan — and he knows restrictions on restaurants may be part of that effort. But he also wishes the Governor would have worked with the the rest of state government, and worked more with restaurant owners such as himself, before the new reductions were ordered.
“She takes (the current COVID-19 numbers) seriously, I understand that, but we do too,” Rep. Brann said. “I would really prefer to work together with the Governor.”
Rep. Brann, a Republican who recently won re-election to the House of Representatives from District 77, which includes Wyoming, said what is not being taken into account is the impact the currently planned 3-week shutdown will have on restaurant employees.
“I am worried about my employees … we are going to have employees without paychecks” Brann said, adding that the usual 3-week time lag in filing and collecting state unemployment benefits means that some employees “will not have money to buy groceries. … We should have had some relief for businesses that are closing.”
Rep. Brann owns Brann’s Steakhouse and Grille at 4157 Division Ave. S., in Wyoming.
Gov. Whitmer on Nov. 15, announced three weeks of new COVID-19 restrictions due to spiking numbers of new cases, deaths and hospitalizations in Michigan.
The restrictions came as part of a new public health order, also announced Nov. 15, that will temporarily restrict colleges and high schools to virtual instruction, will urge work from home for employees who can do so, and will close down a number of activities previously limited but allowed, including bowling alleys, movie theaters and in-person dining at bars and restaurants.
The public health order — set to run from Wednesday, Nov. 18, and last through the Thanksgiving holiday and until Dec. 8 — was announced by Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Chief Medical Executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun and MDHHS Director Robert Gordon.
Gordon, in remarks, said public health orders are derived from legislative action taken in Michigan in 1918 after the Spanish Flu. And the Public Health Code Act, passed by the legislature in 1978, further allowed for public health emergency orders to be made.
(See a MDHHS graphic at the end of the story on what the new health order does and does not do.)
Not impacted by the new order are indoor gatherings limited to 10 people and no more than two households meeting in the same place. But outdoor gathering limits have shrunk to 25 people, which includes funerals.
Retail businesses, salons, barber shops, public transit, child-care centers, parks and healthcare facilities are some examples of establishments that may remain open under the new restrictions.
But restaurants, at least for three weeks, will be limited to take-out food sales and outside seating dining sales. But with winter weather impacts, outside dining is not an option for many restaurants, and Rep. Brann points out that limiting restaurants to take-out food sales is particularly unfair to casual dining restaurants such as his.
“For some restaurants, this is not about profit, this is about survival,” Rep. Brann said. “Take-out is important, but it is more important for chain restaurants than causal dining restaurants like mine. … take-out was only about six percent of my sales, that means about a 90 percent loss.”
