Update: A spokesperson for the provincial government said restaurants will have no set capacity percentage. Instead, there will be a limit on people seated at a table, social distancing of at least two-metres must be in place between dining parties and other health measures will be in place.
COCHRANE— Cochrane restaurants, pubs and cafés are set to once again open for in-person dining tentatively starting on Monday (Feb. 8).
While it is exciting to be reopening her café for dine-in service, The Gentry Espresso and Wine Bar manager and owner Tracy Kaczmer said, she expects it will take time for people to once again feel comfortable dining out.
“We’re more than ready for it,” Kaczmer said. “I don’t believe it's going to be a high-speed start. I think there’s a lot of people who are still going to be tentative and a little bit nervous."
Kaczmer is especially looking forward to providing additional hours to current staff who are eagerly getting ready to reopen.
“I expect that it’s going to get busier as the restrictions relax over time,” Kaczmer said. “It’s going to be a slow start, but it’s going to be nice just to get started.”
She noted the ability of restaurants, bars and cafés will be dependent on people following the public health measures, and there are concerns they will once again be forced to stop in-person dining if COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations rise.
“The ball is clearly in the court of the public,” Kaczmer said. “They [the province] could pull their plugs on the plans at any point of time ... I’m not going to gear up for a great big busy opening time because at any time if they pull the plug, which again we’ve been through this now a few times, we're stuck with a bunch of stuff that you end up throwing away.”
Prior to the recent lockdowns, The Gentry was operating at an occupancy of 15 to 18 people. They typically can host up to 60 people.
The Gentry has not laid anyone off or had people quit, but saw two workers take a break from the shop during COVID-19 partially due to the stress of working during the pandemic. Kaczmer has also reduced the hours for her kitchen staff and the operational hours of The Gentry.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed that this can be kind of a soft opening and then we can just keep building and then get back to normal,” Kaczmer said. “I think we’re all looking forward to that.”
The recent health measure easements are part of the province's steps to economic reopening and include indoor fitness centres, school sports, restaurants and bars.
For the current stage of reopening to continue unfolding COVID-19 hospitalizations must remain under 600 in number.
If hospitalization rates in the province drop below 450, rules could be loosened for retail businesses, community halls, hotels, banquet halls and conference centres.
If hospitalizations drop below 300 hospitalizations casinos, museums, movie theatres, places of worship and adult sports could see relaxed measures.
If there is a drop below 150 hospitalizations a wide array of activities from amusement parks to funeral receptions could open up.
There will be increments of at least three weeks between each stage.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are the focus of Alberta's health easement framework, but Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said different criteria will factor into how easements are rolled out.
Hinshaw said the plan is to monitor leading indicators such as new case numbers, test positivity rates and how many new infections result from each case.
"Those almost act as sort of an emergency brake," she said, explaining easements will move back if there is a need to slow the spread of the virus and protect the health care system in the province.
"If we meet those hospitalization numbers, but all of our leading indicators are escalating in a concerning way, then we would pause our move forward— And we may indeed need to move backward," she said.
The Texas Gate Bar and Grill owner Mark Horton made the difficult decision to postpone the reopening of his restaurant.
It was a challenging choice, he said, but the current capacity rates for restaurants and the timing of the reopening made it economically taxing on the business.
“The numbers just don’t make sense,” Horton said. “They want to reopen in what traditionally are the toughest months of the year.”
The Texas Gate is licensed to host 185 people on the bar side and 45 people on the dining room side. Based on a potential 15 per cent capacity cap it does not economically make sense to open for a total of 37 people, including staff, in the business at any given time.
The Texas Gate employs about 20 people and after speaking with staff, Horton said, many are hesitant to return to a job that has transformed during the COVID-19 pandemic. He added the potential exposure to the virus that could be passed onto vulnerable family members is also of concern.
“Nobody wants to get open more than us but I think we’re smarter at this point to take the next three to six weeks and see what happens."
Horton added he worries the province will see COVID-19 case numbers and hospitalizations grow as the province opens up leading to another shutdown. This concern has only been elevated by the recent identification of the UK and South African variants of the virus which are more contagious.
Horton said he appreciates the need for some restaurants to reopen, but his fear is COVID-19 cases will begin to rise and in another, six to eight weeks closures will once again return when restaurants have their highest-earning months.
Horton wants to see a focus placed on ensuring the industry has a great and profitable summer. Without the ability to earn over the summer restaurants will face a horrendous struggle on the road to recovery.
For now, Horton and his wife Michelle are counting down the days until they will once again be able to open their doors and welcome the community back to The Texas Gate.
“We just got to survive for now," Horton said. "We have survived prohibition we will survive this— We will be back.”
While Coffee Traders remained open for take-out and curbside pickup during the recent round of closures, manager Hannah Naylor said, they are excited to reopen the café for in-person visits.
While a capacity limit has not been set by the province, before Christmas the shop was allowed 25 per cent capacity or about 16 people. At full capacity, the shop can host 64 people at once.
Naylor added Coffee Traders is especially grateful they will be able to get back to a full staff and provide more hours to employees.
“We’ve been running on a skeleton crew, having everybody back is great,” Naylor said. “We’re like a family so it was really important for everyone to stay on and do what they can.”
While it is exciting to be taking a step forward in economic recovery, she noted there is always the possibility reopenings may be delayed in the province.
“We’re putting both feet in at the moment and what will be, will be,” Naylor said. “If we have to close again then we will.”
— With files from The Canadian Press
