GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Tuesday more than a year in the making, Michigan businesses are going back to operating without any pandemic-related restrictions.
For some industries, the day will bring back a sense of normalcy. For others, mainly the service industry, it’s not going to change much in the short term.
“Certainly, we're excited to get back to some normalcy and visiting with our clients, which is a core of what we do as veterinarians,” says Dr. Ryan Carpenter, owner of Family Friends Veterinary Hospital.
At the vet’s office, the lifting of restrictions means a more personal visit for you and your pet.
“We're allowing more than one person unmasked or masked if they prefer coming to their appointments. So we're getting back to pre-pandemic times, back to some normalcy in the veterinary hospital,” Carpenter added.
In the service industry, normalcy could still be a few months away.
While bars may be able to get back to bringing a bigger chunk of revenue in, staff shortages could keep restaurants from opening fully back up.
“Whether it was tomorrow, or July 1, what we're talking about now is probably early fall. We don't have 100% capacity in the cards, or we don't we don't believe we do anyways,” says Chris Funaro of All in Hospitality Group.
Funaro oversees the operations of several popular Grand Rapids eateries, like Donkey Taqueria, The Winchester and Hancock.
“It's really important to us that we control what the next couple of months look like and not put our guests or staff in a position where they're overwhelmed or with regards to our guests that they don't have a great experience when they're here,” Funaro explained.
In the meantime, their focus will be on hiring more staff and delivering the best service they can to a limited number of customers.
“Our staff has done a tremendous job to this point. But it's been much challenging than i think the service industry has ever been, especially in my career. This is some of the toughest days have been have really been this summer. So just be patient, be kind be understanding, but we really appreciate anybody that's thinking about coming in dining."
Funaro says they are hiring at all their locations, with hopes of serving full capacity this Fall.
