Medicine Hat holiday partiers take to restaurants

“I’m excited people are coming back out and people are great, being complaint with the (REP) .. it’s obviously imperative for business to be open,” Clewlow, events manager with Heritage Events said.

She added, “It’s huge. We were shut down for so long.”

The Whiskey District, which recently opened, s benefiting this holiday season from hosting a number of party-goers.

“It’s a huge part of our sales, a huge part of our ability to show the restaurant, show them a good time, take care of them,’ general manager Brian Kannekens said.

He says the operation is seeing mostly office parties right now, although there are some gatherings of family and friends.

“The two Fridays when we saw a group of fourty (customers) was one big company and (the manager) divided (the group) between two weekends,’ Kannekens said.

However, business could be better for some. Hotel ballrooms aren’t seeing a huge demand for holidays events this year. In one case, a buffet with entertainment saw less than half of the turnout hoped for.

“We went to local business to promote that one but i got the reply from the banks and the business, they’re not doing (parties) this year because of COVID”, Ritesh Sharma, general manager of Clarion Point said.

Sharma says the hotel is putting on another similar event on Dec. 18 and is hoping for more turnout.

Meanwhile, the group overseeing restaurants in Alberta say many are still struggling.

“If we’re comparing to 2019 we’re easily down 50 to 60 percent, so (we’re seeing) an uptick over the last fall and summer of dealing with restrictions,” Leslie Echino with the Alberta Hospitality Association said.

She says many outlets are on edge and concerned changing measures will mean another setback.

But in the meantime, Clewlow is grateful to be back in business, and to be hosting gatherings once again.

“We miss each other.. we want to be together.”

by Darren Rathwell

Medicine Hat holiday partiers take to restaurants

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