Takeout a ‘great resource,’ but ‘cook at home as much as you can’: official
A plastic sheet separates Layal Naim from her customers at Colonnade Pizza on Carling Avenue.
It’s not something she likes, but she’s glad it’s there.
“It’s sad for us because we’ve really built a relationship with our customers,” says Naim, assistant manager of the restaurant in Fairlawn Plaza. “It’s a little bit difficult to feel so impersonal when you’re serving them. But we know that, at the end of the day, putting up this sheet here and creating a bit of distance between us and them — even if it’s only temporary — is for our safety and their safety.”
Ontario’s restaurants have been takeout only since Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency on Tuesday. Since then, restaurateurs have been scrambling to pivot to takeout, closing seating areas and ramping up cleaning and disinfecting practices.
At Colonnade Pizza, there are paper towels and hand sanitizer available for customers and one entrance door is propped open — one less surface for people to touch.
But is it safe?
“If people need food and they don’t have an ability to cook or prepare meals for themselves, takeout is a great resource for many people,” Dr. Vera Etches, the city’s medical officer of health, said Friday.
Ottawa Public Health has posted an online guide for food premises and delivery services that lists added precautions it recommends in the face of COVID-19. It emphasizes the need for two-metre social distancing between staff and customers and recommends home deliveries be left outside the door rather than handed over in person. Payments should be made electronically, if possible. Tapping is safer than punching in a PIN.
“Like any kind of activity outside the home, if you go out to get something or pick something up, you should continue to think you could encounter the virus and to wash your hands when you get home and take those precautions,” Etches said.
“We are asking people to limit those activities as much as possible, so my recommendation would be to cook at home as much as you can, but otherwise (takeout) is an option for people.”
At Broadway Bar and Grill in Barrhaven, co-owner George Saliba says his takeout and delivery business alone will only cover half of his monthly rent at Barrhaven Town Centre.
“We do get busy on Skip the Dishes sometimes, but nothing compared to our daily sales for us to just make it by,” Saliba said.
Staff has been cleaning surfaces, wiping down doors, surfaces, tables and chairs and disinfecting debit machines. He’s kept a couple of cooks on staff, “just to keep them working,” he said.
“We’re doing everything we can to minimize the spreading of any virus. We’re always up to par with our cleaning, but we’ve definitely stepped it up a notch.”
Almost all payments are by debit or credit card, he said. The restaurant is considering starting curbside service so customers can pick up takeout without even leaving their cars.
Saliba is grateful for customers who have continued to order, but says not everyone seems to have received the message.
“We’ve had calls from people asking if they can come in and eat,” Saliba said. “I guess they’ve been living under a rock.” bcrawford@postmedia.com Twitter.com/getBAC