You'll find some patios open in Collingwood today, but not every restaurant is able or willing to set up chairs and tables just yet.
On Monday, government officials announced that food and drink establishments can reopen for dining in outdoor areas only, such as patios, curbside and parking lots, on Friday, June 12. However, the owners of these establishments now battle a whole new bucket of challenges.
“Of course we are excited to welcome everyone back, but we are going to do it when we are ready and have followed all the guidelines. We want to feel confident that we have a safe place for our staff and our customers,” said Cassie Mackell, co-owner of Low Down Bar.
Logistically, an establishment needs a considerably large patio in order to accommodate enough people to make it safe and worth their while. According to guidelines released from the Simcoe County District Health Unit, restaurants must rearrange and/or remove seating and tables, or mark them as unavailable, to ensure there is a minimum of two metres (six feet) between “each edge of every table as well as every chair.”
Even for a place like Bent Taco, which has one of the larger patios in town, there is only space for a handful of tables.
“At this point, we don’t know if it’s feasible,” said Dan Lennox, co-owner of Bent Taco. “But we are in the process of exploring what our other options might be.”
In anticipation of this issue, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) has authorized temporary patio extensions to support restaurants and bars and allow the public to safely enjoy service that meets social distancing requirements.
In Collingwood, any establishment that has applied and been approved for a patio (on a sidewalk or on private property) in previous years has been authorized to set up the same-sized patio today.
However, new restaurants that have not yet been approved or those hoping to extend their patio will have to wait. Applications must be submitted to the town and will be considered by council, at the earliest, on June 22.
“It’s been a bit of a scramble, but we’re hoping to have something ready for Friday,” said Mark Krause, who owns Espresso Post with his wife Christene Anacleto Krause. They are going to open the same size patio as last year, and have submitted an application for an expansion as well.
“People desperately want to sit down again. We hear it every day, ever since the weather got better,” said Krause.
Mackell has similar plans to extend Low Down’s patio, but is unsure if it’s worth setting up the smaller patio in the meantime. Mackell has no plans to open this weekend, but hopes to invite guests back to Low Down sooner rather than later.
“It’s very hard to be ready, to get your food and liquor ordered, staff trained and all the protocols into place, especially when we are dealing with the municipality so closely on setting up a patio,” said Mackell. “So we aren’t going to rush into it.”
Lennox agreed, and has opted to wait to open Bent Taco until things become more clear as well.
“We just want to do it right and give people that amazing experience and feel like it’s a normal summer, even for a few hours,” said Lennox. “If that takes us a bit longer, so be it.”
The issue the coffee shop owners face is whether or not expansion is worth it at all.
“It’s a ton of money to expand,” said Anacleto Krause. “And then if the town says it’s only for this summer, what is the value in that investment.”
“But when it comes down to it, it’s about getting back that little bit of normal that has been missing for the last few months,” added Krause.
“It’s just a matter of what’s right for you,” said Mackell.
Town of Collingwood acting CAO Sonya Skinner said staff have been working hard leading up to today to make sure patio season can move forward, but they require a council decision to change the existing bylaw around patios.
She said it's still "within the realm of possibility" for the matter to be before council by Monday, June 15, but the town is not promising it will be ready to move forward by then. As it stands, the matter will be voted on June 22.
At Blue Mountain Village, the story is different.
The majority of establishments have large patios already in place, it’s just a matter of implementing the proper protocols as well.
“It’s been stressful, but we are very excited,” said Olivia Tamburro, the front of house manager at Kaytoo Restaurant and Bar. Kaytoo is set to open the patio at noon today, along with a handful of other establishments in the Village.
“It was short notice, but we expected it to be,” said Tamburro. “It’s just been figuring out… Everything else. Making sure that the machine works and everyone is kept safe and healthy.”
According to Geoff Conway, Owner of Northwinds Brewhouse and Kitchen, the Village Association and landlords of the commercial tenants have been in close contact since the beginning of the closures. There is now a document provided to Village restaurant owners for re-opening, which contains instructions for new safety protocols.
“We have a clear understanding of what opening will look like and all tenants are following the guidelines in place by the Ontario government, local municipality and the BMVA, so while we operate independently, I believe there will be a consistent and safe experience to the customer,” said Conway.
“I couldn’t imagine not getting that document, it would have been a lot to pull together,” said Tamburro. “But it’s one thing to have all these written plans, now we have to bring them to life.”
Even with additional support, establishments in the village face other specific stresses. One of the main concerns is that the reopening of the province is being done regionally, and Blue Mountain Village is a very popular tourist destination.
“It’s worrisome that we are in Stage 2, but Toronto is not,” said Tamburro. “We are just hoping that if people are travelling up here to enjoy these things they don’t have in the city yet, that they are respecting all of the procedures we have in place.”
For that reason, Tamburro also hopes this weekend operates as a “soft opening” of sorts.
“It’s going to be a challenge with the weather and being outside all of the time. We hope we can ease back into it and work out the kinks,” she said.
Northwinds is also starting by simply dipping a toe back into the water. The Village location is set to open today as well, but with a limited menu and limited hours for the first week.
“This will allow us to limit the number of staff we bring back and allow for distancing measures in the kitchen,” said Conway. “As long as we feel safety procedures are properly maintained, we would like to remain open daily.”
“It’s going to be different,” said Tamburro. “But just having people’s presence makes all the difference. When you live in Canada, you look forward to this time of year, and especially for the past however many months people have just been locked in their house. So I think people are ready to go and give it a go.”
