Businesses happily put safety first as they welcome back eager punters
The patio at the Local Public Eatery in Gastown looked sparsely populated in the middle of Tuesday afternoon. About a dozen tables were occupied by couples or parties of three or four, as a hostess informed two men passing by they would have to sit in the sunshine and wait for a spell.
“This is full for right now,” said general manager Brody Jones, referring to the pandemic rules they’re following. But, he said, “people are in very, very good spirits being able to just get outside and, you know, not have to make their own food or drinks.”
One week into Phase 2 of the province’s plan to reopen business after nine weeks of lockdown, Jones is happy enough with the measured pace, which has his establishment operating at half capacity.
“It’s worthwhile enough for us to take care of our team and get them back to work,” Jones said. That was his company’s priority after dealing with safety for customers and staff.
Phase 2 of the restart, which began on May 19, allows for the gradual reopening of restaurants, pubs, cafes, personal services such as barbers, salons and gyms, and medical services such as dentistry and physiotherapy, but with enhanced protocols for physical distancing and sanitizing.
WorkSafeBC is overseeing those efforts, and between May 19-23, conducted 438 inspections of business plans, including 128 on site, and 355 with inspectors reviewing emailed COVID -19 plans and interviewing employees remotely, said spokesman Craig Fitzsimmons.
He said via email that WorkSafe has assigned 300 people as prevention officers for the work.
Jones said The Local hasn’t been inspected yet, but is adhering to the guidelines they’re expected to meet “on a very extreme level,” because the last thing the industry needs is another closure caused by a new surge in COVID-19 cases.
“Now isn’t the time for us to go crazy and try to, you know, break sales records,” Jones said. “For us, it’s about safety for our team and safety for our staff and safety of our guests.”
The Local never closed completely, Jones said, though it did lay off servers while it shifted to a takeout and delivery model during the lockdown. Now, for the moment, sales are “going in the direction of what we were (doing), but we’re a ways away from that.”
Foot traffic along Water Street in Gastown remains sparse without tourists, but shops are slowly beginning to open their doors, a scene being repeated across the city.
“Each and every day there appears to be more and more businesses that have opened their doors,” said Charles Gauthier, CEO of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association.
While foot traffic downtown has increased every week in the four weeks since Gauthier’s return to his own office, success of the business restart there will depend on the return of white collar workers to their offices.
“We’re hearing from (building operators) that a number of their tenants are looking at June, July or potentially the end of the year,” Gauthier said.
Sally Traynor’s Manifesto Lifestyle Salon and Haberdashery on Commercial Drive has reopened to 50-70 per cent of the small shop’s regular capacity. After two months of lockdown, the demand is evident.
“We’re working through like nine weeks of bookings and emails,” Traynor said, “so the communications piece is taking up a ton of time.”
Her entire staff, including six stylists, were eager to be back at their chairs, albeit with masks and physical distancing.
The enhanced protocols, which her staff wrote for the plan they keep on hand in case WorkSafeBC stops by for inspection, mean checking off a detailed list of requirements starting with a health questionnaire that’s emailed to clients 24-48 hours before an appointment.
Like most salons and barbers, all visits to Manifesto are by appointment, everyone must arrive on time, and space restrictions mean only three stylists can work at one time, along with one host. Everyone’s space has been measured out.
Because stylists and clients can’t separate, both have to wear masks, Traynor said. Every visit starts with a recheck of that health questionnaire, a client sign-off accepting the risk, and hand sanitizing.
“This is necessary,” Traynor said of the measures. “The repercussions of not participating are way more detrimental,” she said, referring to a COVID-19 surge and a renewed shutdown.
The restrictions on number of people in the shop and an extra 15 minutes allotted between clients for additional sanitizing means lower productivity and less revenue, even though Traynor has extended Manifesto’s hours to make sure she can schedule all her stylists. Traynor opened for a “soft launch” on Saturday, then went full-time starting Tuesday.
She’s not expecting to turn a profit, just to cover costs between now and Christmas.
“And then, I mean, I really hope that things return, but it’s all hypothetical.”
Shutting down again, however, would be dire, Traynor said.