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Pandemic pushes local diner to the brink, but not over the edge yet

Friend's Diner stops offering usual takeout, focusing on frozen meals and fundraisers only; 'I don’t know how long we can last in a lockdown,' owner says
2020-01-13 Friends Diner
Friend's Diner is only selling frozen takeout meals while the region is in the province's grey zone.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a popular breakfast joint in Orillia to shut its doors — somewhat, anyway.

Friend’s Diner will not be offering its usual takeout now that the province has issued a stay-at-home order and declared a second state of emergency.

The Laclie Street restaurant was only open for breakfast and lunch, with breakfast being its most popular offering.

“It’s not something that is a good takeout item,” owner Al Bayne said of staples such as eggs that will get cold before the customer gets them home.

For that reason, he said, “our takeout has declined rapidly.”

Even when restaurants were allowed to have customers dine in, business was slow because many people were wary of eating indoors.

When he switched to takeout only, Bayne had to lay off all of his staff except for his cook. The two of them alone handled takeout orders.

“I barely made enough to pay my cook in the kitchen,” he said.

Now, the cook has been laid off, too.

“We saw our sales go down, so we just said, ‘Let’s call it a day,’” Bayne said.

Many of his customers are elderly, so he has decided he will offer frozen meals for takeout — a convenient option for his regulars.

“It’ll give us something that we can get out there to people and make a little money,” he said.

Bayne is still taking part in Rotary Take-out Tuesday, offering a weekly dinner, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Rotary Club of Orillia’s local needs fund. He is also partnering with the club for a spaghetti dinner fundraiser Jan. 23, also with some of the proceeds going to the local needs fund.

Bayne said it’s important for him to support the community, even though his business is struggling during the pandemic.

“Like everybody said, we’re all in this together,” he said. “I had made commitments to do these things before the lockdown and I’m going to do what I committed to.”

The six employees who were laid off have been “very understanding,” he said.

“During the first wave, it was a shock to everybody because it was so abrupt. This time, it was more of a gradual knowing that they might be laid off,” he said, adding he hopes to bring everyone back on staff as soon as possible.

The future of his business, however, remains unknown.

“I don’t know how long we can last in a lockdown. I hope it doesn’t last two months,” he said.

For more information about Friend’s Diner’s frozen takeout dinners, its involvement in Rotary Take-out Tuesday and its Jan. 23 spaghetti dinner fundraiser, visit its Facebook page or call 705-326-8594.


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Nathan Taylor

About the Author: Nathan Taylor

Nathan Taylor is the desk editor for Village Media's central Ontario news desk in Simcoe County and Newmarket.
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