Orillia business owners in the restaurant and personal care industries are struggling to survive after being forced to close their doors since the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit moved into the province's grey “lockdown” level on Monday.
Wayne Isaacs, owner of Lickel Bickle Restaurant on Atherley Road, opened the doors of his business for the first time this past October. The new restaurant got off to a thriving start and was doing quite well until the Dec. 26 lockdown. The province-wide shutdown kept his restaurant closed for in-door dining until Feb. 16.
“I had a freezer full of food that was all garbage. It can’t sit there for two months, so it all got thrown out,” Isaacs explained.
When the region was put back into lockdown again on March 1, Isaacs was forced to throw out fresh foor for a second time.
“Here I am again, about to throw out $1,500 worth of fresh vegetables and things we would have needed if we were open,” he said.
“We are known more as a breakfast restaurant, and the last time we had to close we didn’t sell one single breakfast from Dec. 26 till we were allowed to re-open. Nobody orders take-out for breakfast, so everything is garbage," he lamented.
Currently, Lickel Bickle Restaurant is averaging about four lunch and dinner take-out orders a day. The lack of volume has forced Isaacs to lay off his five staff members.
“I’m spending $12,000 a month to keep this place open and I’m not even making $3,000 a month because nothing is coming in,” he explained.
Isaacs says he can’t apply for any government grants or wage subsidies because, as a new business, he doesn't qualify.
“If things stay the same, if we can’t get any help, I’m going to have to bite the bullet and lose my life savings that I put into this restaurant,” he said.
“We won’t be able to hold on much longer. I think I’ve held on because I’ve invested so much money into this - money I’ve saved over the years, and now I’m going to lose it because of the way the government is handling restaurants and local businesses," he said.
Isaacs believes local restaurants in Orillia should be open, adding the government should focus its lockdown strategies on communities with a higher COVID-19 infection rate.
“When I last looked, there was only one new case in Orillia, it’s mainly in Barrie. They are shutting down Orillia for Barrie that’s 40 kilometres away, and it’s really putting a strain on our businesses,” he said.
Hairstylists feeling the pinch
The move into the grey “lockdown” level has also shut the doors of area hair salons. Sharp Image Salon and Spa owner Shannon Weilding has been forced to lay off all of her 25 employees.
“That’s honestly the hardest part for me, knowing they are all laid off, and because they were only unemployed for a week, unemployment isn’t going to be effective for them,” Weilding said.
“They can’t make money, and we are used to living off way more than what CERB is. It’s hard.”
Weilding says she is concerned for the mental health of her staff during the current lockdown.
“When we got the news last Friday night at the salon, everyone was crying. It’s not good for the girls; some of them are alone and sitting all by themselves, they can’t work, they can’t make money, it’s kind of depressing, so I worry for them,” she said.
“A lot of people in our industry right now are honestly changing their minds on their career choice because of this.”
Weilding calls the forced closure of her business unfair, adding she considers the hairstyling industry to be one of the cleanest and safest of personal-care buisnesses.
"There is nothing in our salon that doesn’t get sanitized. I can guarantee you that is not happening in a lot of other businesses. I feel we are more sanitary than the hospital and I’ve been to the hospital three times during COVID,” she said.
“When we ask for a reason for why our industry is shut down they say it’s because of the high numbers, and we understand that, but we want answers on why it’s our industry that’s being picked on when we are clearly going out of our way to make sure it’s safe for everybody.”
Weilding says she has written an email addressed to Premier Doug Ford, medical officer of health Dr. Charles Gardner, and Barrie-Oro-Medonte-Springwater MPP Doug Downey, inviting them to come into the salon to see the protocols that are being followed for themselves.
“I doubt they would do it, but I’m challenging them to do it at least, so they can give us a damn good reason as to why we are closed,” she said.
Sharp Image Salon and Spa will survive, Weilding believes, but she says she will continue to fight and advocate for her staff.
