Business is ramping up at local restaurants since they were allowed to welcome diners back inside on Friday, but not everyone is chomping at the bit.
“A lot of people are still on edge about dining indoors, so we’re getting more requests for the patio,” said Kira Patterson, general manager of Era 67.
It’s not that unusual, she added, since the Mississaga Street restaurant’s patio is typically in high demand during the summer.
Not everyone is nervous about heading indoors, though, and Patterson feels precautionary measures put in place at the restaurant are helping put customers at ease.
“We’re all being extra vigilant with our cleaning practices and how we’re handing things. We were definitely ready for this (reopening) to happen,” she said.
Still, it isn’t the same as it was before the COVID-19 pandemic. Era 67’s dining room is licensed for 99 people. With physical distancing rules in effect, it can only have about half of that number inside.
Fortunately for Era 67, it can still have a similar number of people on the patio as it did pre-pandemic because of the way the tables are spaced out. What will happen when patio season is over is unknown.
“We’re all a little nervous about that,” Patterson said.
Studabakers owner Joe Winacott shared that concern.
“We’ll see what happens when patio season is over,” he said.
For now, he’s focused on doing better business now that customers can dine in again.
Like other restaurants, Studabakers has reduced capacity. No more than 50 people are allowed inside. Usually, that number is capped at 122. Plastic barriers and physical distancing are being employed at the restaurant.
Also, as is the case with every restaurant, customers are required to wear a mask whenever they are inside, except for when they’re seated at their tables.
“Everyone’s been respecting the rules,” Winacott said.
Diners have responded well to the new rules at State and Main, too, said owner Stephen Moro.
“Our customers have been great. It’s been an adjustment, but everybody is adjusting to the short-term new normal,” he said.
State and Main, on Monarch Drive, opened in March, not long before it was forced to close. When restaurants were given the go-ahead to reopen patios, Moro didn’t waste any time. It has helped the new business, as has the approval it recently received to expand its patio.
Inside, Moro said, he’s able to accommodate a little more than 50 per cent of his pre-pandemic customer numbers thanks to both distancing the tables and using plastic barriers.
The partial reopening is “a good step forward,” he said, and while he understands the reasons for not being allowed to operate at full capacity, he needs to make available “every table inside to be a viable business.”
Like Patterson at Era 67, Moro has noticed some customers aren’t ready to get back to indoor dining yet.
When State and Main reopened its dining room Friday, “we thought the reaction would be the same as when we opened the patio,” he said.
“In the end, it wasn’t as busy. We understand that people are going to be hesitant.”
Despite that, he is pleased with the response so far and feels safety measures have contributed to that.
“We took it seriously and put measures in place and people appreciate that,” he said.
Some restaurants simply are not in a position to reopen their dining rooms.
R Cottage owners Ian Thompson and Sarah Valiquette-Thompson pulled out a tape measure to see how physical distancing would work in their small space in Washago and figured they might be able to allow 10 people in at once.
“Economically, it didn’t make sense. Morally, ethically, it didn’t make sense,” Thompson said.
In such a small space, it would be difficult, even with 10 people inside, to ensure the safety of customers, staff and, ultimately, their families.
“We’ll always lean on what makes sense for our family first,” Thompson said.
Takeout at R Cottage has been popular during the pandemic, and the restaurant’s patio reopened last Friday. Adding a dine-in component to the mix would make it “too clustered to socially distance,” Valiquette-Thompson said, adding customers appreciate the owners’ concerns.
“They’re so happy that we are safely proceeding the way we are. They feel comfortable coming to our space for takeout and we don’t want to ruin that,” she said.
The two have a number of friends in the restaurant industry. They know they’ve been struggling and they’re glad some restaurants are able to welcome diners back inside.
“We’re always thinking of our restaurant friends, so I’m really happy people can open their doors and let people in safely,” Valiquette-Thompson said.
