After a short stint in closure, restaurants are expected to be opening back up at limited capacities by the end of the month.
The move to reopen restaurants comes just two weeks after Premier Doug Ford announced that the province would move back into “modified stage 2” for a minimum of 21 days to slow the spread of the highly-transmissible omicron variant of Covid-19. Beginning on Jan. 31, restaurants will be permitted to open their indoor dining spaces at 50 per cent capacity. The news was first reported by CityNews, and an official announcement is expected on Thursday.
Currently, restaurants in Ontario are only permitted to serve takeout and delivery, as well as welcoming guests to some outdoor dining. While the reopening of restaurants may seem like a beacon of hope for those cooped up at home with the winter blues, restaurant operators are now scrambling to turn the lights on again. And at what cost?
According to Restaurants Canada, the price of having to shut down a restaurant when the province orders a lockdown is hefty. Recovering dozens of roles and staff, many of whom continue to leave the industry as a whole, is also an added stress with the province’s flip-floppy measures.
“Our Ontario members have told us they lose about $10,000 every time one of their establishments is suddenly ordered to shut down dining services,” said James Rilett, Restaurants Canada Vice President of Central Canada, in an April 2021 article. “For a restaurant that’s been through three lockdowns, the province’s $20,000 small business grant hardly covers their closing and reopening costs, let alone compensation for revenue lost while shut down.”
Even Premier Ford stated this week his distaste for the lockdowns.
“No one dislikes these shutdowns more than I do,” Ford told CityNews on Wednesday. “I actually despise them, but in saying that, health is a priority and I follow the guidelines of the chief medical officer, but we look forward to having a good announcement for restaurants and gyms and other folks that have been closed.”
While there’s no certainty as to if this will be the last province-wide shutdown due to Covid, there’s no better time to go out and support your local favourites when they’re slated to reopen on Jan. 31.
This article will be updated with any new information regarding restaurants reopening.
