For a second time, Squamish restaurants and bars will have to suffer through an extended period of reduced business — and locals are bracing themselves for what looks to be a considerable economic challenge.
On March 29, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry ordered that restaurants shut down indoor dining until April 19. In addition, Whistler Blackcomb was told it would have to close for the same amount of time. Gyms must stop indoor group activities during that period as well.
The rationale for the orders is a spike in pandemic numbers.
On Tuesday, 7,062 British Columbians were reported to be actively fighting either the COVID-19 virus or one of its strains – the highest number since December 31. Of those, 312 are in hospital and 78 are in intensive care units.
Squamish schools have reported a number of exposures.
Business advocates in Squamish say while they understand the impetus for the new orders, they come at a difficult time.
“Truthfully, this sudden closure on a Monday when most businesses have ordered their produce for the week is a huge hit,” said Downtown Squamish Business Improvement Association executive director Kerry Neil.
“That has a big impact on our restaurants, eateries.”
She said the association will be active on social media, promoting ways in which people can still support local enterprises.
“In light of the new provincial order temporarily suspending indoor dining we are asking all local residents to support their favourite downtown restaurants, pubs and cafes by dining al fresco or ordering take-out and delivery. Many eateries were just getting back on their feet and now this. The need for local support is more important than ever.”
The Squamish Chamber of Commerce had a similar message.
“The restrictions announced on Monday are necessary to break the chain of transmission. However, there will be some impact on local Squamish businesses, especially given the short notice and the nature of hospitality businesses who have already taken reservations and placed inventory orders in advance,” wrote Louise Walker, executive director of the association in an email to The Chief.
“We understand there is some form of relief coming for impacted hospitality workers, which we will share once available.”
Walker said the chamber is urging people to support local businesses by ordering take-out, in addition to any other alternatives to in-person dining.
She added that patio dining is still available, and the municipality’s patio program allows businesses to expand their service areas until October 31.
The chamber will be reaching out to local businesses to create a list of what’s open in town.
Walker said the organization would be posting suggestions on how to support local businesses — via gift cards and other ways — at its site, squamishchamber.com.
For restaurateurs who are feeling the brunt of the impact, the provincial government’s decision seems harsh.
Pat Allan of the Salted Vine Kitchen + Bar said he felt the public health order was putting too much of the burden on small businesses.
“If everybody else can be open, I think restaurants should be open. It’s either a total lockdown or not. Why [are they] pigeon-holing restaurants and bars? I really don’t understand.”
For the most part, customers were arriving at the Salted Vine in families or pairs, likely meaning that most people were following health orders, Allan said.
Yet, he noted, malls and retailers are still allowed to operate, and many people outside family bubbles come in close contact in those settings.
Allan said his restaurant would have to shut down, as it does not do take-out.
“The cost of goods sold and the labour costs, it just doesn’t add up. It’s better for us to just close the door,” he said.
Workers at the restaurant will be out of a job for three weeks.
A closure for that long won’t be a make-or-break situation for his business, but it will hurt, he said.
“I think it’s very much a band-aid solution that really isn’t going to do much,” said Allan. “They’re putting a band-aid where it really needs stitches.”
He added that he was grateful for Squamish’s support, especially when the Salted Vine opened up after the first lockdown.
Allan said gift cards are a great way to support local businesses that have to shut for this period.
As for his views on the government order, he’s not alone.
“It’s really unfortunate that small businesses are going to be the ones affected by this, where you can still go to Costco and Walmart and stand in line with a bunch of other people that aren’t from your family — and they’re still open,” said Shannon Walls, the owner of Saha Eatery. “But we’re now having to suffer again.”
The restaurant has been sanitizing frequently, has added partitions and masked up, she said.
There won’t be layoffs for Saha, but hours will likely be reduced, Walls said.
She added that she was concerned that Whistler Blackcomb’s closure may take away some business. Just recently, Walls said, she’d been serving customers who were on their way to the resort.
Not much more than a stone’s throw away, one of the co-owners of Taka Ramen + Sushi is noticing that the lunch hour is unusually slow on Tuesday.
Maki Kite, along with her husband David Yuji Kite, run the newly-opened restaurant.
With dining in closed, they’re offering take-out and have an outdoor eating space, but that isn’t pulling in the normal numbers.
“Normally, this time, 12:30 p.m., we kind of like pack up,” said Kite. “We have a patio, but I think people are staying home. I don’t see the people. It’s so hard.”
There won’t be layoffs, Kite said, but shifts will be reduced.
In the meantime, an establishment with much more outdoor dining options says it will be continuing with business as usual.
Jessamy Freese, co-owner of Fergie’s Cafe, said her restaurant is in a lucky enough position to have an extensive outdoor seating area.
“We’re actually very fortunate that we have the huge outdoor space,” said Freese. “So, for example, last year when we opened after the first lockdown, we were actually able to build more picnic benches and increase our outdoor capacity — and that’s what we did.”
At the moment, she was working with a local contractor to put shelters over the outdoor dining tables to help protect guests from the rain.
She’s aware, however, that not everyone will be able to adapt as easily.
“We are so sad for our friends in the industry. Some people, some restaurants are going to be hit really hard, obviously,” said Freese.
“I feel like the news [on Monday] was heartbreaking. Not totally unexpected, but certainly heartbreaking.”
The president of Tourism Squamish said that there will undoubtedly be great challenges for restaurants in the near future — but there may be a sliver of opportunity for some who can pivot quickly to a take-out model.
“Now that there’s not a whole lot of reasons to go past us, I think our rivers and our lakes and the oceanfront and our mountain bike trails and hiking trails are going to be even busier,” said Kirby Brown.
“And that just means our restaurants have the opportunity in terms of take-away to do a pretty good business for those capable of pivoting in that direction.”
Nevertheless, it’s still a difficult situation for many.
Brown said that it’s imperative for senior levels of government to lend a hand to businesses affected by their orders.
“I hope that the government steps up with equal measure to support those that can’t adapt to outdoor dining or take-away,” he said. “Because even though there’s been loss of various support, at this stage in the game, even a three-week shutdown like this could be catastrophic for many.”
As for support from the municipal government, acting mayor Doug Race said the District has limited power to help in this situation.
“I don’t know we’ve got anything to soften the blow,” Race said.
“There’s no direct support that we can really give to businesses. We’ve done things that other places have done, you know, put patios and tried to just make things just a little bit easier for some of these businesses. But beyond that, there really is nothing.”
He said the municipality doesn’t take a political stance on the provincial health orders, but generally tries to ensure those directions are followed.
In the grand scheme of things, Race said, the virus is a challenge, but it’s something that can be handled.
“I keep thinking my parents went through World War II, and they went through five or six years of rationing and friends getting killed and stuff like this,” he said.
“If they can handle that, then we can handle this.”
