Margaret Manion, Manny's Sports Tavern & Grille — House Bill 669 (June 2, 2020)

Summary

Testimony dated June 2, 2020, by Margaret Manion, owner of Manny's Sports Tavern & Grille in Sandusky, Ohio, giving full support for House Bill 669, which she describes as expanding the definition of premises and sales for liquor permit holders. Margaret Manion states that June 18th will mark her 20th year in business and that she laid off the bulk of her 35 employees during the shutdown. She states that the restaurant spent hundreds of man hours and thousands of dollars to comply with health orders. She states that the passage of the bill will allow thousands of Ohio restaurants the opportunity to serve liquor anywhere on their premises.

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Full text

         Margaret Manion, owner of Manny’s Sports Tavern & Grille in Sandusky, Ohio
                                        June 2, 2020



Good morning. My name is Margaret Manion, I own and operate Manny’s Sports Tavern & Grille,
located in Sandusky, Ohio. Madam Chairperson, I would like to thank you for this opportunity to
speak to this committee today and give you my full support for House Bill 669, that expands the
definition of premises and sales for liquor permit holders.

June 18th will mark my 20th year being in business. We’ve had mostly a great run with a few
bumps along the way. But nothing as devastating as the COVID 19 pandemic. Its financial impact
will permanently close many restaurants for good, and has crippled many others like me.

It is important to understand the dynamics of what restaurant owners are dealing with amidst
these unprecedented times. When COVID 19 led to the shut down of restaurants in March, many
of us were just taking delivery of large quantities of spring inventory and, more specifically, for St
Patrick’s Day, historically, one of our biggest days. While we were able to use a small portion in
carry-out services, we had to absorb huge losses on the perishable food. From that point in time,
we have experienced blow after blow of worsening news related to our ability to survive through
the COVID pandemic.

At first, we thought maybe this would last a couple weeks. Two weeks turned into four, then
nearly nine by the time we were able to provide eat in services once again. During that time, we
were glued to the Governor’s daily briefing, hoping for any good news pointing to an end. During
the shutdown I tended personally to my closed restaurant, laid off the bulk of my 35 employees,
and ran a skeleton crew for a carry-out business. Concurrently I applied for loans, redesigned our
establishment, spent countless hours cleaning, disinfecting and developing new policies and
procedures in anticipation of the re-opening of our business.

Once given the green light to open, we were also given very strict guidelines to follow in order to
be allowed to open. We spent hundreds of man hours and thousands of dollars, in order to be
compliant with our Departments of Health’s orders. In our case, we had an architect review the
guidance document and re-draw a compliant table and chair arrangement to address all of the
new guidance. We enlisted a shop in Avon, Ohio, to build the necessary partition walls and acrylic
glass protection barriers allowing for line of sight viewing accommodating the state Department of
Health Guidance Document. We worked around the clock until the project was completed. We
opened on time. But with only 50% of our original capacity. So with the approval of our local
Health Department Commissioner, I was able to expand our outdoor seating by renting a tent and
created a pass-through on our current patio into the tent. This was all done at great expense. But
it has abled me to expand our diminished indoor seating to almost original. By allowing service of
alcoholic beverages in that area would almost bring me back to full capacity.
Our local Health Commissioner personally indicated to me that our final product was amazing and
the we should be proud of our efforts. I am very proud. I’m very proud I’m able to offer an
extremely safe socially distanced restaurant.

But many challenges remain. In the first 10 days of re-opening our sales are down 47% from last
year. Our costs of operation increased an additional 25% for labor. Fifty percent of my restaurant
food sales come from burgers. Their wholesale cost increased 100%. Our wonderful Sandusky
location is home of the Erie Islands, Cedar Point and several waterparks including Kalahari, Great
Wolf and Castaway Bay. We have the renowned Plum Brook NASA in our backyard, along with
many attractions that create millions of prospective clients each day, especially in the summer
season. Currently they are all closed.

So, with our costs elevating and the capacity of most restaurants diminishing by more than half,
the prospect of many eateries permanently closing shop is high. We need ALL of your help, not
just now, but for a long time to come. In our region restaurants contribute massively to the
employment of our residents. We generate a considerable amount of sales tax and employment
tax, and we are struggling to survive.

Your immediate attention to the bill and the bill’s components as they relate to allowing our
establishments to IMMEDIATLEY offer outdoor seating and liquor sales with food will go a long
way to help mitigate the many hurdles we are otherwise facing. I urge each of you to get this bill
passed.

In closing, I recently read a quote I would like to share with you:

“The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change.
The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed.
And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open”

We have learned what it will take to safely operate our businesses during this crisis. We have
made the changes required. The passage of this bill will allow thousands of Ohio restaurants the
opportunity to serve liquor anywhere on their premises, and provide each of them a better
chance to economically recover from this pandemic!

Thank You


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