JANESVILLE, Wis. – Bar owners in Rock County say a temporarily blocked state order limiting capacity could have put them in risk of losing it all.
The order, issued by Governor Tony Evers last week, limited the number of customers in many indoor establishment to 25% of capacity. On Wednesday, Sawyer County Circuit Court Judge John Yackel blocked the order, setting a court date for Oct. 19.
“It’s been a roller coaster for our industry,” said Matt Kealy, who owns Drafthouse in Janesville. “When (Coronavirus) numbers spike, it seems to quiet down a little bit, when things regress, we kind of pick up a little bit.”
Kealy has been operating under Rock County guidelines of limiting capacity to 50 percent since mid-June.
“50 percent at least gets my business to a break point,” he said.
The Shopiere Tap in Rock County is back operating at 50% capacity, following a temporary block on @GovEvers statewide mandate on capacity.
Why the owner says that mandate felt like a personal attack, tonight on #News3Now at 6. @WISCTV_News3 pic.twitter.com/KubwTH7d3I
— Adam Duxter (@News3Adam) October 14, 2020
In recent weeks, however, Coronavirus cases in Rock County have surged. On Wednesday, active cases neared 1,000, while hospitalizations reached an all-time high.
“Nobody would have ever thought we’d be going through this still,” said Bill Perkins, owner of the Shopiere Tap. “At 50 percent, we’re paying our employees, we’re keeping the lights on, groceries in the cupboard…. 25 percent of a business’s revenue is their employee’s wages every year.”
Perkins said his goal is to move more customers outside to a heated patio as the weather cools.
Both men say they feel limiting capacity is unfair to restaurants.
“We didn’t ask to pack people in here shoulder to shoulder as much as the greed in us wanted to do that,” Kealy said. “We always put safety first. Now that we have to take a step back, it’s tough. It’s not a profitable venture. If we want small businesses to survive, 25 percent doesn’t work.”
“I do have to balance it,” Kealy said. “I have overhead here, and if this goes under, my family doesn’t have a home. My family doesn’t have food on the table. We have to balance public safety with the reality that we have to survive this also.”
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