Restaurant industry eager to return to work following shutdown

The Restaurant industry faced nearly five months of shutdowns in total. For Sprague, that meant having to rely on CERB and EI just to get by, and she said that was not easy.

“It was a complete struggle, because you have your car insurance, your home, your food, and you just pray you don’t have any additional expenses,” she said.

The shutdowns were also not easy on her boss Chris Orchard who has been a restaurant owner in Medicine Hat for over 15 years.

“We have fixed costs in the restaurant business, and our utilities, our insurance, these are things that don’t go away even though we don’t have the right necessarily to make money, other than take out and delivery. For our restaurant, that’s not a very good option. We tried it. We did about 20 per cent of the sales that we would normally do being open for business and it was just not enough to sustain.”

Orchard estimates it will take him about three to four years to recoup from the shutdowns and while he is thrilled he will be able to open his doors, he said his business will still take a hit due to the new restrictions. Under the new guidelines, seating is limited to six people who must be from the same household. A provision also allows 2 close contacts for people living alone.

“We can’t have corporate, we can’t have business meetings we can’t have Christmas parties, wedding receptions, all of that stuff is part of what we do here, and it has always been part of what we do,” he said.

Still, despite the uncertainty of a pandemic, a group of restaurateurs is hoping their new restaurant J Rock Pub and Grill in Box Springs will still be able to draw in a crowd come reopening on Feb 8.

The business owners took possession of the space in May, but have waited to open their doors to the public until the restrictions eased. So when the announcement came last week, the business owners knew they had to make a move.

“I think we were just jumping for joy but then we were also panicking too right, so now we really, really have to make a push here, and then there is always the worry of, ‘okay are we just going to get the doors open, get everything stocked for two weeks and then turn around and shut down,” Kitchen manager Tim Alexander said.

And it’s that fear of another shutdown that those in the industry worry about the most, with many in the industry, like server Heather Sprague saying they are at their breaking point.

“This is the final blow for many, many people. A lot of us have maybe a month left,” Sprague said.

That desperation to stay afloat is why those in the industry are hoping the public will support them, once they are able to open their doors come Feb. 8 so they can continue in the industry they love.

by Tiffany Goodwein

Restaurant industry eager to return to work following shutdown

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