Another day, another fight about COVID-19 laws and mandates.
Last week, Governor Evers took action to limit capacity in bars and restaurants to 25%, a restriction that hasn't been in place since spring. The move came as Wisconsin is seeing record numbers of new cases, deaths and hospitalization rates, especially in the northern parts of the state. Wisconsin is one of the biggest pandemic hotspots in the nation right now, and the temporary field hospital at State Fair Park is a reminder just how crowded the hospitals are becoming.
While mitigating the spread to save as many lives as possible is the goal of the capacity restrictions, restaurants and bars can’t operate profitably at 25% capacity. However, even operating at 25% will help most businesses cut into their losses as they struggle to survive during this pandemic.
Milwaukee Has a Plan
For many Milwaukee service industry businesses, the new capacity restriction doesn’t apply. That’s because Milwaukee businesses with food or liquor licenses were required to submit a safety plan to the city for approval. Those plans are incredibly detailed because each business will have different challenges and solutions. They must address a whole checklist of topics, including how tables will be spaced or separated, what to do if an employee tests positive, sanitizing procedures and products, and how to relate all the information to employees and customers.
In order to continue operating, restaurants and bars must have their safety plans approved by the city. Because of the strict requirements businesses must meet for that to happen, the city of Milwaukee has decided not to enforce Evers’ 25% capacity restriction. They assert that the city's requirements are stricter than the state’s, and in just about every way except capacity, that’s true. Many businesses’ plans include physical social distancing barriers, like plexiglas or plastic dividers between tables, which allows for a relatively safe environment even at full capacity. So, those businesses here with approved plans have the best chance of surviving. Hopefully the city approves the remaining plans quickly.
Tavern League Up to their Usual Tactics
The Tavern League of Wisconsin was not going to take Evers’ 25% capacity sitting down, which surprised absolutely no one in the industry. The Tavern League is a non-profit industry group that represents liquor license members in all of Wisconsin's counties. It’s also one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the state. They fought hard against the indoor smoking ban, for instance, so they’re not well known for putting health above profits.
They filed a lawsuit about a week after Evers’ capacity restrictions were announced, and a judge in Sawyer County struck down the restrictions earlier this week—for now. There will presumably be a whole lot of legal back-and-forth, as there always is with these things.
While the Tavern League recognizes in their statement on the matter that Milwaukee's safety plan policy could be a role model for other counties, they do not seem interested in making that happen. They only want what’s best for their members’ bottom lines, which in the case of a pandemic means letting it spread out of control, clogging up hospital ICUs and moving us quickly down a path to what NYC looked like earlier this year.
It’s also important to note that the board of directors for the Tavern League is made up primarily of rural and small town business owners, and not a single person of color. The coronavirus has been disproportionately affecting Black and Hispanic populations in the Milwaukee area. Do these white directors from the other side of the state listen to what their members in Milwaukee are saying? Do they care about the people dying in Milwaukee, let alone Wisconsinites in their own backyards?
To read more New Restaurant Reality columns by Lacey Muszynski, click here.
