A popular bar tour from Windsor to Detroit has been put on pause indefinitely.
Citing the current political climate between Canada and the United States, WindsorEats says they cannot, in good conscience, continue running tours.
For over a decade, WindsorEats has hosted the D-Tour Detroit dive bar tour connecting Windsor and Detroit through music, laughter, and the shared love of a good dive bar.
WindsorEats co-owner Adriano Ciotoli says the tours helped his business during the slower months from November to March.
"We usually sell out every single tour that we do," he said. "We would run it almost weekly and every bus, 50 plus people, and unfortunately just with the uncertainty with crossing the border, but also just in us kind of wanting to re-prioritize where our dollars are spent."
He says he hopes to potentially restart the tours in the future.
"A lot of support from our customers that are completely in agreement with what we're doing," Ciotoli said. "Even from the businesses that we deal with in Detroit, they completely understand what we're doing as well. I mean doing this over 10 years, we've built a lot of relationships over there, but maybe they'll be something that's developed as a result of this here on this side of the border that can hopefully fill some of the gaps."
Ciotoli is encouraging the community to support local businesses during this time.
"We have a couple other independent businesses that operate their food trucks on our property, but it's not just about one or two businesses, it's about the community as a whole, right?" he said. "This may affect a lot of people and their jobs, but if you're able to, to continue going out and supporting the local businesses, and the businesses in your community that you love."
Ciotoli says his company worked with around a dozen businesses in Detroit, and rotated through them each week.