Dearborn Pub Hopes To Reopen This Week With Outdoor Seating

DEARBORN, MI — Carmen Bronson hopes this week is the week her business, The Biergarten in Dearborn, can reopen.

The pub has been closed since March 16, when bars and eateries across the state were ordered to close due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"On March 16 at 3 p.m. we were told we had to lock our doors and we have yet to unlock our doors and reopen," Bronson told Patch. "Most of that is a capacity thing. It's really hard to open up at 50 percent with 100 percent bills."

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The capacity issue is something that might be remedied soon. The Biergarten is one of a few businesses in Dearborn that have recently been approved for the special use of city property for additional seating or space for their business. While the pub usually could seat 67 patrons indoors, when it reopens it will have a 60-by-40-foot space outdoors large enough to safely fit 60 people, while adhering to safety guidelines put in place during the coronavirus pandemic.

"We're going to have the picnic tables really well spread out," Bronson said. "This is so new to us and we don't even have the area set up yet, but we see it visually in our minds.

"As long as we have respectful patrons and customers, we will be able to have an area that can keep us functioning and get our doors open back up and revenue start rolling again."

Related: Whitmer Closes Indoor Bar Service In Lower Michigan

After Whitmer shut down several economic sectors across the state in March, the curve of new coronavirus cases began to flatten, and slowly those economic sectors began to reopen.

Construction was able to resume May 7, and manufacturing was able to restart on May 11.

On June 8, Whitmer allowed all Michigan bars and restaurants to reopen at 50 percent capacity.

Michigan's barbershops, hair and nail salons, tattoo parlors and other personal service shops reopened June 15 in most of the Lower Peninsula. They have been allowed to reopen in Northern Michigan beginning on June 10.

However, almost as quickly as things began to reopen, most restrictions were put in place as the number of cases began to increase again. As of Tuesday, more than 66,000 cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Michigan and over 6,000 people have died in Michigan from it.

As it stands now, restaurants throughout most of Michigan that make more than 70 percent of their earnings through alcohol sales, including traditional bars, nightclubs and strip clubs, are required to cease indoor sales under the order.

As Bronson prepares to reopen, she does so with only outdoor service in mind, at least at first.

"We've got all of our paperwork in from the state and the health department to be able to reopen our doors, and we're hoping to do that by the end of the week," she said. "I'm excited in a nervous kind of way because who knows what's going to come of the world."

Related: Coronavirus PPP Loans: Where The Money Went In Michigan

The back-and-forth between state of Michigan officials and Michigan businesses has been nauseating for many as they try to stay afloat without profits.

That is why municipal officials such as Cristina Sheppard-Decius, the executive director of the East and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority, have been working vigorously to make sure businesses have the resources they need.

"We have seen a rebound, in terms of sales, but I would say that they're still not back to where it was before," she said. "It's not a 100 percent rebound. It's definitely still very modified."

In Dearborn, Sheppard-Decius said retail businesses have felt the restraints caused by the coronavirus because while curbside and delivery services have alleviated some issues with eateries, the lack of daytime traffic as people work from home or simply choose to stay home during the pandemic has directly impacted retailers.

"I think that a lot of them have had to make many adjustments to how they handle their productization, and customers coming in and moving product through," she said. "But I would say for the most part I think a lot of our smaller retailers are still seeing customers wanting to come back and really trying to support our businesses and we just need more of it. We just need people doing it more often."

One adjustment in Dearborn has been allowing businesses to apply for special use permits to use city property for additional seating and space for their business.

The Biergarten was recently given the green light after the East and West Dearborn Downtown Development Authority reached out to Bronson to see if she would be interested in an outdoor arrangement.

The process to move toward having outdoor seating wasn't easy. Bronson said she had to first go through the state to get the proper licensing for outdoor service. From there, she had to get additional insurance for liabilities that come with outdoor seating. Then, she had to make sure she had the proper license to allow for outdoor food distribution. Once that was settled, she was approved by the Dearborn City Council for the permit.

"We find that most of our customers are like family. So it's nice to be able to have the family back together," Bronson said.

Sheppard-Decius said some businesses have already been approved and that she expects more to be approved for similar outdoor services, primarily in the area of West Village Drive and West Village Commons.

As more businesses reopen with various permits and adjustments due to the pandemic, Sheppard-Decius said she is hopeful residents continue to support local business.

"I know that those who do come into work are trying to make it a point to go out and patronize our businesses," she said. "But we just want to encourage more people just to do that, whether it's if they're a resident, maybe try going out for lunch sometime or pick up lunch."

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