Pennsylvania brewery owner defies coronavirus shutdown
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania restaurant owner Jordan Serulneck is defying coronavirus restrictions to keep Seven Sirens Brewing Company open.
For one Bethlehem, Pa., restaurant owner, the coronavirus restrictions are hitting especially hard because they didn't quality for PPP loans or other aid amid the pandemic.
Seven Sirens Brewing Co., which opened less than a month before COVID-19 came to the U.S., remains open, defying Gov. Tom Wolf’s ban on indoor dining to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the state.
"It's just been an absolute crazy year for us," Jordan Serulneck, head of operations at the brewery, told "America's Newsroom."
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'It took us three years to open and 28 days to close down," he said. "A lot of our employees haven't received their unemployment benefits and all those things and we've been reaching out to our bank, the SBA, to anyone that would possibly have any relief for us. It just doesn't exist."
On the company's Facebook page, they wrote: "If you don't agree with our decision, that's totally fine. We respect you and the decision you need to make to keep yourself and your families safe and we ask that you extend the same courtesy to us and others making these difficult decisions."
Serulneck said the company has received "overwhelmingly positive feedback" amid opening despite state orders.
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Aside from banning indoor dining, Wolf also said that gyms, theaters and indoor entertainment would have to close until Jan. 4. However, outdoor dining and takeout are allowed to continue operations for the next three weeks.
Pennsylvania is also limiting indoor gatherings to 10 people and outdoor gatherings to 50 people.
"It is the virus that is dictating this," Wolf said in the press conference on Thursday.
Fox News' Ann W. Schmidt contributed to this report.
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