The hospitality industry continues to be negatively impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic. Locally, one business owner is keeping a positive attitude while juggling 3 businesses in two states. Michael Strom has been a successful proprietor in Monmouth since 1989 and is the current owner of Tootie’s Downtown Lounge in Market Alley as well as the owner of Green Bay Bar and Grill and the Bottoms Up Tavern in Wever, Iowa. Strom has had to adapt to different sets of guidelines as both Iowa and Illinois have had different plans for reopening bars and restaurants. Strom says the good news is he was able to keep the carry-out side of his restaurant open through this past couple of months. More good news for Strom includes the re-opening of his restaurant in Iowa:
“We are making sure everything is spaced correctly. It might look a little bit sparse, but I can seat people at every table I have now since I took out the extra tables. It’s going to be strange because there will be no condiment holders on the tables. There will be nothing on the tables except a bottle of sanitizer. We will use paper throw away menus that we will be using instead of our permanent ones. When you order your food for the time being, it seems like the most sanitary way to provide condiments is through packets of ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper. It’s going to be a different dining experience for a while but we are just trying to do everything as safely and as smartly as possible.”
“It’s a crap shoot for all of us, we are going to figure it out and follow all of the guidelines and get back in business. We will recover from this.”
Under Illinois’ current phased reopening plan, restaurants will not be eligible to reopen for dine-in service until Phase Four of the plan based on metrics. According to the parameters of the Phase Four plan, the earliest an Illinois restaurant could potentially open their doors would be in mid to late June.
