Several business owners in the Owen Sound area are fed up after being forced to endure another Progressive Conservative provincial government mandated Covid shutdown.
The owner of the Boot and Blade on 2nd Avenue East in Owen Sound, Grant Cameron, says enough is enough.
With restaurants once again left without indoor dining service during the middle of the cold winter season, Cameron had to deliver layoff news to six staff members on Tuesday — reducing the number of workers to four. His business used to employ 26 people prior to the pandemic.
“They’re frustrated like ourselves. We’re right back to square one of shutting down,” Cameron says. “Shutting down businesses like ours, I can’t see how it solves anything.”
The latest blow to the restaurant industry in Ontario was one of many new Covid restrictions announced by Premier Doug Ford on Monday. Schools are closed to in-person learning until at least Jan. 17. Private indoor and outdoor gathering limits have been slashed to 5 and 10 respectively. Several businesses such as movie theatres, gyms, indoor recreational facilities, concert venues, and museums, among others, have been mandated closed until at least Jan. 26.
Cameron says in the nearly two years of on-and-off pandemic restrictions relied on by the Ontario government since March 2020 his restaurant has had revenues fall by about 70 per cent.
“If I hadn’t had the time in that we had at the Boot the last 34 years, there’s no way we could survive,” Cameron says. “Even with the government’s help.”
The Premier says the new measures are necessary to ease pressure on the province’s hospital system. He also insists the targeted closures will be time-limited. But, Cameron isn’t buying it. He expects this interruption will persist past the Jan. 26 date the province has given.
He says the provincial government has “not one iota” of credibility left.
The owner of the The Bowling Alley in Owen Sound, John D G Schnurr also expects a prolonged closure period for his business. He recalls April 2021 when the province implemented an emergency brake shutdown that was supposed to last four weeks. That four weeks turned into more than three months. His business was not permitted to open again until July 16 when Ontario entered Step Three of its re-opening plan.
“Ultimately, I feel disappointed with the lack of transparency with the government,” says Schnurr. “They’ve treated us like children, in the sense that they’re not telling us until the last minute what’s going on. Overall, it’s a great amount of disappointment.”
Schnurr says the approach the province has been taking to try and address hospital capacity issues by implementing rolling targeted shutdowns in sectors like indoor recreation, restaurants and indoor entertainment venues is not sustainable. Businesses are hurting.
For The Bowling Alley, Schnurr’s concern is while it’s open year-round, it really is a seasonal operation in terms of revenue. And this year marks another interruption during the period when The Bowling Alley typically takes in the dollars that hold it over during the less busy summer months.
“From May and until October we usually just foot the bill and pay the rent, because we know that sales are low but we have the busy months to make our bank,” he says. “And now we can’t make that. We’ve been shutdown now three times during our busiest seasons.”
It’s already taken a lot to stay afloat and keep the bowling balls rolling to this point. The provincial and federal government support programs have helped, Schnurr says, but not enough. He says during the periods his business has been completely shut down government grants cover about 80-90 per cent of expenses.
“But we’re still expected to pay 10 to 20 per cent of our bills with zero income,” Schnurr says.
Schnurr says he’s had to take on $60,000 in additional debt and also had to sell personal assets to invest nearly $80,000 in the business to just to “pay the bills” not covered by government support.
“If The Bowling Alley isn’t able to open up in three to six months, we’ll probably be closed in six,” Schnurr says. “For good.”
Rob Brennan owns the 10th Street Diner in Owen Sound. He says the last two years have been very difficult not just financially, but psychologically — having to deal with customers being angry at times with mask mandates or vaccination passes.
“It’s been very difficult,” says Brennan. “I think our customers are as tired of it as we are to be honest.”
Brennan says his business has done everything the provincial government has asked — implementing mask rules, reducing capacity, resetting the space for distancing, and asking for vaccine certificates for seated guests. He’s frustrated that “the promise if you do things the right way things are going to get better” is not being fulfilled.
“Things haven’t gotten better,” Brennan says. “…We’ve been very compliant and it just seems that we’re not getting anywhere and at this rate it doesn’t look like we’ll ever get anywhere.”
He says the 10th Street Diner has been fortunate to have amazing and loyal customers that have supported it through the pandemic, but there’s been a large financial burden his business has been forced to bear.
“In the very beginning it was fair compensation we were getting for the total lockdowns, total shutdowns. But that’s kind of all dried up,” says Brennan. “We looked into what kind of funding is available and it’s not very much. We don’t really qualify for anything.”
“It’s been really tough,” he continues. “We’re losing like every other restaurant right now. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for us to continue on, but we’re trying to ride it out.”
Brennan says there’s no question things can’t continue like they have for the past 22 months with continuous shutdowns for his business to survive.
“Not just us,” he explains. “But all businesses that rely on foot traffic coming in and out your door will be finished.”
Asked whether the Ontario government needs to think of new ways to approach Covid rather than turning to shutdown measures, Brennan says he supports the position “we have to try and keep ahead” of the virus, but does think a more progressive approach is needed that will keep the province open.
“If things don’t change soon, I can see a lot of businesses, a lot of restaurants such as us serving our last meals,” Brennan says.