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Restaurant Owners Worried Indoor Dining Ban Will Be Extended Past Next Week's Deadline

(CBS DETROIT)- Businesses across the state paying close attention to Governor Gretchen Whitmer's briefing Thursday, especially restaurant owners, wondering if the indoor dining ban would be extended past next week's deadline.

Restaurant owners having mixed emotions about being able to re-open their dining rooms next Tuesday, Dec. 8, after the statewide ban is lifted. On one hand they are ready to get back to business, but on the other there's a sense of uncertainty, says Nya Marshall, owner of Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails in Detroit.

"I've literally opened and closed the restaurant twice this year," she said.

Like many business owners Marshall on pins and needles every time Whitmer gives a briefing. During Thursday's announcement Marshall expected the Governor to extend the ban on indoor dining, Whitmer did not, at least not today.

"I do believe she's going to extend it I do, I just hope not," said Marshall.

Having her restaurant grand opening just a year ago, she says this has all been an emotional roller coaster.

"How many weeks of cash flow can I sustain, on top of that anxiety you worry about keeping people safe, we're in a pandemic after all," she said.

On Wednesday, a judge denied the Michigan Restaurant Association's request to reverse the state's ban on indoor dining. In a statement regarding the denial, the association says, they will now transition their efforts to preventing a ban extension.

Marshall says as Christmas approaches she's hoping to put her staff back to work and reopen her doors.

"Right not we are bleeding red, it's everyone in the hospitality industry," she said.

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