WESTLAND, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Westland pizzeria closed two hours early Tuesday and plans to do the same Wednesday and Thursday nights as the owner works to protect employees from dangerous heat.
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Nur Abulawi, owner of Marina's Pizza on Palmer near Venoy in Westland, shut the doors at 7 p.m. Tuesday instead of the usual 9 p.m. closing time. He posted to Facebook explaining the decision, acknowledging that some customers complained about the early closure.
The carryout and delivery-only restaurant runs two ovens set at 550 degrees, and Abulawi said the combination of outdoor heat and kitchen temperatures pushes conditions well beyond what the thermostat reads.
"The thermostat will say 80, but realistically, when you're next to the oven, and you're next to the open fryers and all that, I mean, it's pushing past 90. You know, and then every single time you open the oven, you just get blasted with 550-degree air," Abulawi said.
Abulawi has owned the Palmer location for three years. He said extreme heat days are often among the busiest for the business.
"The worst days of weather is actually some of our busiest days. So, we do as much as we can, until we're just, the exhaustion level's too high," Abulawi said.
The early closure was intended to give his 8 employees a break before returning for another hot shift the following day.
"You know, couple hour break just to make sure that the staff can go home little extra, take a cold shower, so that way, cause it's the same staff coming back tomorrow," Abulawi said.
Samantha Foley, an employee who makes pizzas and stands next to the ovens throughout her shift, said conditions inside the restaurant are intense even with air conditioning.
"Before we had air, it definitely was hotter in here, but with us having air, it still's just humid and being by the oven, it just, it gets very hot," Foley said.
Foley said she welcomed the early closing time Tuesday.
"You know, you get busy, and then it's like the hottest point of the day. So, everything comes at once, and it's just hot, but after we closed at 7, it was like a 30-minute cleanup. I was definitely excited to go home and just take a cold shower," Foley said.
While some customers complained about the early closure, others expressed support for the decision. Customer Mark Miller said he understood.
"Absolutely think he should do what's best for himself and his customers as well, and his workers," Miller said.
Abulawi said the plan is temporary and tied directly to the current forecast.
"It's just a heat wave for the week, so it's not like we do it all the time, you know. After this week, we'll be back to normal," Abulawi said.
He acknowledged the financial impact of closing early but said employee safety comes first.
"I care about my family that works here. I care about the employees that work here, but on the backside, I'm also losing money. So, it's not like I'm just going home to relax," Abulawi said.
Abulawi said customers who place orders before 7 p.m. can still get their food, including the restaurant's coney dog pizza.
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