Detroit restaurants should look to outside seating ahead of reopening, Mayor Duggan says

DETROIT (FOX 2) - As the city begins discussions to reopen Detroit restaurants, the mayor suggests owners should look for spaces outside near their building for seating.

Under current guidelines, stores can only allow a quarter of the maximum number of people allowed in the building per the fire marshall’s limit. That means if a store’s max occupancy is 28 people, only 7 are allowed at a time.

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For some restaurants, they wouldn’t be serving enough people at a time to stay afloat. So Mayor Mike Duggan is suggesting they begin looking for spaces they can provide outside seating. For those without patios, he suggests looking at areas adjacent to their restaurants, or a side street shared with a neighbor that they may be willing to forgo for a period to allow the restaurant to reopen.

Duggan said the next step is reopening restaurants and those discussions will take place in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, some Detroit stores are beginning to reopen by appointment this upcoming Tuesday.

Photo By Bruce Bisping/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

The city is providing stores free PPE to get them started. Owners can visit the city’s reopening playbook called Detroit Means Business at detroitmeansbusiness.org to request PPE. The mayor asks that businesses only book a Monday appointment to pick up PPE if they are opening Tuesday.

“We wanted to help you get up and running,” he said.

The Detroit Means Business website provides a 21-page guide to reopening businesses, including Detroit’s six-step workplace safety protocols, charts and checklists, safety signs to post around your business, and more. It also offers financial resources and tech assistance webinars.