The bar industry is in crisis.
Indicated from the beginning as risky for the spread of Covid-19, some bars managed to survive because they were allowed to sit inside or outside.
Now, bars that remain open have the critical holiday season to generate enough revenue to keep the doors open. But the cold climate, coupled with a patchwork of restrictions, are making this effort almost impossible for many of them.
Typically, at this time of year, Joe Robinson would be handing out a drink called “Fa la la la la la la la” in a light sweatshirt at his Detroit themed island bar, The Skip.
“It is literally insane,” he said. “People have been waiting outside in the freezing cold of Detroit for over an hour to enter this bar.”