Innovation and thinking outside the box has prompted overwhelming support for a local family restaurant that is bracing for the coming lockdown.
Early last week, Tammies Place, a family restaurant on Mississaga Street, introduced their outdoor dine-in experience where customers can eat in a heated, see-through dome.
“It’s really taken off. People have really responded to them; they have enjoyed the unique experience,” said owner Tammy Grant.
Once the community caught wind of the new unique dining experience at Tammies, Grant and her staff have been struggling to keep up with the demand.
“It has really exceeded my expectations. It’s been a little overwhelming, to be honest,” she said.
“Our Facebook page crashed a few times, and we had to bring a staff member in just to answer the phone.”
Other than a few spots that have recently become available on Dec. 22 and Dec 23, Tammies is fully booked leading up to the province-wide lockdown on Boxing Day, which will restrict restaurants in Southern Ontario to only serving take-out for 28 days.
“People really want an experience and an opportunity to dine in a safe spot with their family with no one else around,” Grant said.
On Saturday, the Orillia Area Community Development Corporation issued a news release clarifying the rules for dine-in domes at restaurants, which you can find here.
Grant assures all her customers that Tammies will be following all health and safety protocols to make sure the dome dine-in experience is safe from COVID-19 concerns.
“We’ve been working with the city, the mayor, and the health unit for quite a while. They gave us the go-ahead and we are following all the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit guidelines,” Grant said.
“The server spends very little time in there ... it’s just you and your bubble. There are fresh air returns, we are using radiant heat, there is no air being pushed through filters or anything, they are sanitized between each seating and aired out.”
Even though Tammies will only get a week and a half out of the domes before the province-wide lockdown keeps them closed for dine-in services until late January at the earliest, the unique dine-in experience generated a lot of revenue and gave the family restaurant a much-needed boost.
“They definitely helped us, and hopefully, they will help us come through the other end of this pandemic,” Grant said.
“It was a big risk, but with the wonderful support of our community, it’s really come together for us.”
Grant considers herself lucky to still be in business considering the financial struggles brought on by the pandemic - especially with a second lockdown looming. Grant believes Tammies will survive the coming lockdown, but fears some downtown restaurants might suffer a different fate.
“We’ve been lucky through this whole thing that I had the parking lot for the patio in the summertime, and the space for the domes in the winter; a lot of the small downtown restaurants didn’t have that space,” Grant explained.
“It’s made it hard, the support of the community will hopefully get us all through, but it’s going to be a hard go this time.”
Tammies will be closed for the holidays beginning Dec. 24 and will re-open on Jan. 2 for take-out only.
