Andiamo owner leading charge to defy COVID-19 order netted at least $1.8M in PPP funds

As Michigan closes in on 10,000 fatalities from the COVID-19 pandemic, metro Detroit businessman Joe Vicari is calling on restaurants across the state to defy any additional health restrictions. Earlier this year, the owner of the Andiamo chain received more than $1 million in federal pandemic funding.

“Our industry cannot survive another extended closure,” Vicari wrote in the letter, published by WDIV-TV in Detroit. “Thousands of restaurants and tens of thousand of our employees cannot survive it either. We need to band together and FIGHT BACK, but we need to do this as a United Group of Michigan Restaurant Owners.”

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has issued an epidemic order closing restaurants and bars for in-person dining for three weeks, which is set to expire Dec. 8. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said at a Tuesday press conference that no decision has been made yet to extend the measure.

Vicari’s plea is met with some empathy by U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Twp.), although he does not support the call to ignore health orders.

Read more: https://www.michiganadvance.com/2020/12/01/andiamo-owner-leading-charge-to-defy-covid-19-order-netted-at-least-1-8m-in-ppp-funds/

Commentary from Rep. Tlaib is included within the article.