GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — The announcement of restaurants being able to open on Feb. 1 at 25 percent capacity for indoor dining is more bitter than sweet for restaurant owner Jody Arp.
"At 25 percent...we’re not going to be able to bring our staff back. We asked for volunteers to stay home for a little longer because there’s no way we could schedule all of our staff,” owner of The Red Bird Bistro Jody Arp said.
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Jody opened her restaurant in Cedar Springs just a year and a half ago.
Being open at 25 percent capacity means they can run six tables.
"It’s not enough to survive. It’s not even enough to cover our monthly utilities,” Arp said.
Arp says she and her husband Scott have done everything they can to keep their place COVID-free. They wipe down tables in a four-step process in between guests. But this reopening to her sounds much better on paper than it will be in reality.
Sales are down 85 percent at The Red Bird Bistro. During shutdowns at 50 percent capacity, they only turned a profit one of those months.
“Not sure what else we can do; just fight to reopen,” Arp said.
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