"Tommy Stephens knew that COVID-19 would change the course of his business. The owner of the Raven Lounge & Restaurant had been observing the spread of the novel coronavirus as it steamrolled its way through coastal states and inward to the Midwest, raising fears and uncertainty about what could come next. On March 10, 2020, the day Michigan’s first positive cases were confirmed, he preemptively closed down the 54-year-old Poletown blues club. And the Raven stayed closed, through three months of dine-in shutdowns, through the summer of socially distanced service, and now going into the unknown fall." - Brenna Houck
