The Big Boy restaurant in the Thumb region of Michigan lost its name after owners refused to eat indoors as part of nationwide restrictions to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Customers were greeted on Friday with the Sandusky Diner instead of the 35-year-old Sandusky Big Boy. The franchising company took action. Big Boy restaurants are known for the statue of a boy in a plaid overalls holding a hamburger over his head.
The Sandusky site, about 88 miles (141 kilometers) north of Detroit, was one of four restaurants cited during the week for violating the state’s indoor diet. Three other establishments, including one restaurant, have had their liquor license suspended.
Big Boy’s corporate office told the owners they have 24 hours to fulfill the state’s order, said Troy Tank, the restaurant’s partial owner and chief operating officer.
“We’ve already decided we won’t do that,” Tank told the Associated Press. “We would only be open to execution. We were not in a position to do this again. We had been quarantined three months earlier.
Tank said his restaurant struggled during this period.
“Our backs stood against the wall and we knew we had to fight,” he said.
Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has announced restrictions on bars and restaurants amid an onslaught of COVID-19 cases. The public health order also limits gatherings.
Restrictions have forced Michigan high schools and colleges to shut down personal classes for three weeks, while entertainment businesses such as casinos, cinemas and bowling alleys are also closed.
On Friday, Michigan said it registered an average of more than 8,500 new cases of coronavirus in two days. He reported 172 additional deaths, 108 of which were during a review of previous records.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Rights relied on four restaurants on Wednesday, while the Alcohol Control Commission suspended the license for the spirits.
Tank said his restaurant was fined up to $ 1,000 a day every day customers could eat inside.
Patrick Blake, a spokesman for Southfield-based Big Boy Restaurant Group, said the Big Boy brand should no longer be used in Sandusky restaurants.
“Big Boy’s number one priority … is the safety of customers and staff,” and the actions at Sandusky Restaurant “don’t represent Big Boy’s standards,” Blake said.
Café Rosetta at Calumet, Woodchips Barbecue at Lapeer and The Meeting Place at Fenton were mentioned and fined. Licensing for spirits has been suspended at Cory’s Restaurant in Newaygo and B. and D. LLC in Fremont, along with The Meeting Place.
Calls and messages requesting comments were not returned immediately on Friday.
Meanwhile, Whitmer wants Republican-controlled legislation to approve the $ 100 million stimulus plan “for families and small businesses hardest hit by the pandemic,” The Detroit News writes. Legislators are scheduled to meet next month. .
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Williams reported on West Bloomfield, Michigan.
