2020 has hit the restaurant industry hard.
"It's really, really difficult to get by and especially this year and there are common statistics of the failure of restaurants at 60% or 70%," says Dave Ringler with Cedar Springs Brewing Company.
Now a new government regulation could change the way some restaurant employees are paid. Tips would be shared among workers who don't have direct contact with customers.
"One of the things I look at with this new law is the attempt to help the dishwashers, the bus boys and others who work at restaurants who will not receive tip money," says Kent County Commissioner Robert S. Womack.
Since Michigan is a tip credit state the impact would be lessened but there is a minimum wage component.
"It can be made up by tips or gratuities and if they don't make at least the minimum wage then the employer makes up that difference," says Ringler.
The concern centers on more government regulation and some say that if the government wants to get involved then the help should come in a different form.
"I think one of the things they can do to help restaurants here during the pandemic is to definitely look at tax decreases because these restaurants are closed," says Womack.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.