The Lockdown Showdown

Brewery owner Jordan Serulneck remembers feeling the pit in his stomach when he found out the state was ordering him to shut his doors—again. "Our rent was still full price," recalls Serulneck, the co-owner of Seven Sirens Brewing Co. in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. "We have a loan with a bank, and that still had to be paid."

It was November 23, 2020, three days before Thanksgiving. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, had just ordered a snap shutdown that required bars and restaurants to close on "Thanksgiving Eve" to prevent gatherings...