Ontario restaurants say patio closures cost the industry more than $100 million
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If you think the provincial government s recent flip-flop on outdoor dining has been hard on Toronto residents, for whom that one sunny ray of hope was snatched away after just two weeks of patio season, imagine how it feels to be a business owner.
Customers may feel a bit screwed over by the abrupt change in rules, but the people behind Toronto s favourite bars and restaurants? They got royally effed.
And they want nay, many would argue, they
Last Updated Tuesday, April 6, 2021 10:56AM EDT Two organizations representing restaurants and workers in the food service industry are calling on the Ford government to reverse its decision to close patios around the province as part of a one-month provincewide shutdown. On Tuesday, Restaurants Canada and the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association published an open letter to Premier Doug Ford, urging the province to provide more support for struggling restaurants and reopen patio dining as a “safe alternative” to private gatherings. “When provincial and municipal health officials encouraged restaurants to reopen for patio dining in Grey-Lockdown areas, they did so in recognition of the lower risk of transmission in outdoor spaces and the need for options to support mental health and well-being,” the letter read.
TORONTO Two organizations representing restaurants and workers in the food service industry are calling on the Ford government to reverse its decision to close patios around the province as part of a one-month provincewide shutdown. On Tuesday, Restaurants Canada and the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association published an open letter to Premier Doug Ford, urging the province to provide more support for struggling restaurants and reopen patio dining as a “safe alternative” to private gatherings. “When provincial and municipal health officials encouraged restaurants to reopen for patio dining in Grey-Lockdown areas, they did so in recognition of the lower risk of transmission in outdoor spaces and the need for options to support mental health and well-being,” the letter read.
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Well in advance of Ontario pulling its emergency brake last Saturday for 28 days to stem an alarming third wave of COVID-19, Belleville restauranteur Paul Dinkel prepared his weekend menu for what he hoped would be a bumper Easter weekend in food-service revenues.
In business in the city since the late 1970s, Dinkel confided he has always been at the ready for one of the busiest times of the year at his fine-dining eateries in the city’s downtown.
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Try refreshing your browser. Eatery groups call for Ontario to step up COVID-19 relief for restaurants Back to video
Senatore, who owns a small men’s fashion boutique on Ossington Ave. called AREA+001, said many people are upset by the video which doesn’t make it seem like we are in the middle of a pandemic.
People are asking why small retailers, restaurants, nail and hair salons are all locked down when this can occur at a shopping mall, he said.
He said while small retail stores within the mall are permitted to open at 25% capacity, the hair salons in the mall are “watching the madness” as they are forced to remain closed.
“It’s wild,” Senatore said. “People are scratching their heads.”