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IPFS News Link • Michigan

Most restaurants that violated indoor dining ban fined $600, allowed to reopen

• Sarah Rahal - Detroit News

Most of the nearly two dozen bars and restaurants cited by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission in December for violating the state's ban on indoor dining have resolved their cases with a $600 fine and license suspensions of one to four weeks. Restaurants have been closed to indoor dining since Nov. 18 and are scheduled to remain so through Friday. Other business restrictions put in place in November as Michigan's COVID-19 case numbers peaked have since been loosened. The number of suspensions has increased as struggling restaurants and bars defy state orders to stay afloat during the pandemic since March. The state issued three suspensions in September, five in November and 23 in December, records show. In some instances, there have been hostile encounters with state investigators and one bar owner said his co-owner had to "kiss the ring" in virtual court to walk away with a small fine and a short-term license suspension. Citations have been issued for allowing in-person g


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