With President Donald Trump scheduled to visit Michigan’s Ford plant Thursday, a number of business owners across the state are simultaneously reopening their doors.
The call to action comes from Erik Kiilunen, who recenlty reopened his small manufacturing company in the Upper Peninsula. Earlier this month, Kiilunen created the “All Business is Essential Campaign,” putting up billboards in Grand Rapids, Lansing and Detroit-- that urges other business owners to follow his lead, and reopen their doors in spite of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order.
With President Trump, (who has been sparred with Whitmer on social media) set to visit Michigan on Thursday, a number of business owners say they are following suit, and reopening their businesses to mark the occasion.
Not every business owner's decision to reopen however, has a political agenda behind it. For some, it is a question of survival.
Andy Moyle is the owner of The Rock House Mind Shaft, a bowling alley, restaurant and family entertainment center in Houghton County. He says that in a county of only two confirmed cases of COVID-19 since April, coupled with the anxiety to save his business, the decision to start up again became clear.
"I just felt that there was no end in sight," Moyle said. "There's no point in reopening (later) when you can't find anybody to work, and you have no way of funding the startup because you are already out of money.”
While Moyle opened up his business last week, 9 more have pledged to reopen tomorrow, according to Kiilunen.
The protest Thursday comes on the same day a Shiawassee County Circuit Court judge is set to rule on Karl Manke. The Owosso based barber made headlines earlier this month when he ropened up his salon. Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an appeal after a judge initially ruled he would not shut the barber down.
