FERNDALE, Mich (WXYZ) — On Wednesday, Renshaw Lounge in Clawson posted a message on its social media saying it will be closed for a week "in an effort to err on the side of safety."
It's a decision many small businesses are grappling with as COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the state.
“Right now, we are kind of day-by-day,” Como's Restaurant general manager Eric Fuller said.
Fuller says they plan to stay open, but they are keeping a close eye on the COVID-19 case count.
“We're concerned about the health and safety of our team," Fuller said. "Without my team, we are nothing. Without our guest, we aren’t doing it. So, if it meant we had to shut down for a little bit to get over the curve or whatever that looks like, we would absolutely do it.”
Siouxsan Miller, the co-owner of Green Daffodil in Ferndale says, “We're not going down without a fight.”
Miller says they are doing everything they can to stay open. Right now before you walk in, you are offered a squirt of hand sanitizer, masks are required regardless of vaccination status and they are limiting the number of people allowed in the store.
“It’s important for us to stay open and we will stay open,” Miller said.
Dr. Payal Patel, an infectious disease physician with Michigan Medicine, says there are ways to stay open and stay safe.
“We’re in a very different place now than before vaccines,” Patel said.
Patel says patrons and employees should get vaccinated and boosted. She suggests business owners should start to mandate it.