Hard ball: COVID-19 slams Cleveland's baseball bars, clubs

CLEVELAND (AP) — No band has plugged its guitars into the amplifiers on Wilbert's stage since mid-March, and there's usually an open bar stool or three these days at the music joint just a long relay throw outside the outfield walls of Progressive Field.

It's a sunny Sunday, and there's a hint of fall in the air on this August afternoon as the Indians are about to play their series finale against Detroit. But except for the dull roar from fake crowd noise being pumped inside the ballpark, it's quiet in downtown Cleveland.

Too quiet. Desolate and nearly deserted.

As in most major U.S. cities, Cleveland's office buildings are at half capacity or less as workers stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic to lessen the risk of infection. So the lunch-time crowds are thin, there's little traffic on the streets and the sidewalks are mostly empty.

But what's noticeably missing is the buzz created when fans in the outlying suburbs of Northeast Ohio descend on the city to watch their beloved Browns, Indians and Cavaliers play.

The impact of the virus has been tough on all businesses, but harshest on the numerous bars and restaurants inside the Gateway District, which includes Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, the recently remodeled home of the Cavs.

“I can probably last another two months,” said Micheal Miller, Wilbert's 17-year owner and Cleveland-area native. “I had a fire here at the end of September, and then the pandemic and then the riots, so it’s been tough. But I’m an Irish Scorpio, so it’s going to take a lot to keep me down."

Miller is fighting to stay open. Others have surrendered.

Next door to Wilbert's, the Thirsty Parrot's huge wooden outdoor deck would normally have customers spilling beers and spilling off into its parking lot when...

source https://www.chron.com/news/article/Hard-ball-COVID-19-slams-Cleveland-s-baseball-15568389.php