BREWERY OWNER JORDAN Serulneck remembers feeling the pit in his stomach when he found out the state was ordering him to shut his doors—again. “Our rent was still full price,” recalls Serulneck, the co-owner of Seven Sirens Brewing Co. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “We have a loan with a bank, and that still had to be paid.”
It was November 23, 2020, three days before Thanksgiving. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, had just ordered a snap shutdown that required bars and restaurants to close on “Thanksgiving Eve” to prevent gatherings that might spread COVID-19. The fact that Seven Sirens had scraped together more than $10,000 to convert an outdoor space into a heated patio ahead of the winter didn’t matter; the governor’s order banned both indoor and outdoor dining.
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, just a few weeks after Seven Sirens had first opened in mid-February, Serulneck complied with the state’s shutdown order. The promised “15 days to slow the spread” turned into weeks, then longer. It wasn’t until months later that any bars, restaurants, or breweries were allowed to reopen for in-person service. Then came the Thanksgiving shutdown, and then another the following month, this time banning indoor dining from December 11 until after the start of the new year.
When Wolf imposed those new shutdowns late in 2020, Serulneck wasn’t the only business owner to groan—or to shrug. Hundreds of Pennsylvania businesses defied the edicts. Some were punished with fines and threatened with loss of their licenses. Serulneck recalls a TV news van that was parked outside Seven Sirens on the night before Thanksgiving “to see if we were going to be hauled out in handcuffs” for flouting the governor’s order.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Libertarianism From the Ground Up
ARGUMENTS FOR LIBERTARIANISM typically take two forms. Some libertarians base their creed on natural rights-the idea that each individual has an inborn right to self-ownership, or freedom from aggression, or whatever-and proceed to argue that only a libertarian political regime is compatible with those rights.
Lawlessness and Liberalism
THE UNITED STATES is notorious both for mass incarceration and for militarized police forces.
Politics Without Journalism
THE 2024 CAMPAIGN WAS A WATERSHED MOMENT FOR THE WAY WE PROCESS PUBLIC AFFAIRS.
EVERY BODY HATES PRICES
BUT THEY HELP US DECIDE BETWEEN BOURBON AND BACONATORS.
The Great American City Upon a Hill Is Always Under Construction
AMERICA'S UTOPIAN DREAMS LEAD TO URBAN EXPERIMENTATION.
Amanda Knox Tells Her Own Story
\"OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM RELIES UPON OUR OWN IGNORANCE AND THE FACT THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT OUR RIGHTS ARE.\"
Trade Policy Amnesia
WHILE HE WAS interviewing for the job, President Joe Biden demonstrated an acute awareness of how tariffs work. It's worrisome that he seems to have forgotten that or, worse, chosen to ignore it-since he's been president.
Civil Liberties Lost Under COVID
WHEN JOE BIDEN was sworn in as president in January 2021, he had good reason to be optimistic about the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bye, Joe
AMERICA'S 46th president is headed out the door. After a single term marked by ambitious plans but modest follow-through, Joe Biden is wrapping up his time in office and somewhat reluctantly shuffling off into the sunset.
Q&A Mark Calabria
IF YOU HAVE a mortgage on your home, the odds are that it's backed by one of two congressionally chartered, government-sponsored enterprises (GSES), Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
