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After 33 years of business, Red Hawk Bar & Grill on State Street announced<\/a> it will close its doors May 3. In the announcement, the restaurant cited the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation as primary reasons for the closure.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Magz Mikesell, Red Hawk general manager, said the restaurant started to face financial difficulties following the COVID-19 pandemic due to Oxford Companies<\/a>\u2019 lack of financial leniency. Mikesell explained the restaurant \u2018s recovery from the pandemic was further hindered during State Street\u2019s construction project<\/a>, which was completed in August 2023.<\/p>\n \u201cOxford doesn\u2019t give free rent during the pandemic for restaurants that couldn\u2019t stay open,\u201d Mikesell said. \u201cThen State Street shut down for two years after the pandemic for construction. I mean, we relied on all the pedestrians to come in, and so once it becomes difficult to go past all the construction, people are going to start avoiding it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Roger Hewitt, co-owner of Red Hawk, told The Daily he felt he would rather close Red Hawk altogether than have to decrease food quality as a result of rising food prices.<\/p>\n