Nightclub owners anxiously wait for guidelines
Clubs could feature dance floors turned into lounges and markers on floors for standing
Darryl Moore has been in the hospitality industry for decades. Restaurants, bars, nightclubs — he’s had a hand in countless establishments across Waterloo Region and beyond through the years.
He’s never seen anything impact the industry the way COVID-19 has.
His current list of associated establishments includes Elements Nightclub, Wax Nightclub, McCabe’s Irish Pub and Grill, Dallas Nightclub and several other pubs and restaurants spanning from Guelph to London.
His focus now is on utilizing patio spaces for the eligible pubs and restaurants. Nightclubs, on the other hand, remain shut down, surviving off government subsidies and rent relief until Premier Doug Ford provides a framework for reopening.
“It’s certainly been in the back of our minds — how to open and what can you do — but the question comes back to how you can social distance on a dance floor?” he said. “In my opinion, the clubs are open or they’re not. You can put protocols in place, but once you have people mingling and standing, it’s very difficult to control any of that.”
Under the current sanctions for patio bars, provincial guidance dictates that both singing and dancing are banned in the outdoor seating areas.
This comes after various reports of transmission through singing, including a major outbreak in a Washington state choir that met for rehearsals in early March. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report said 87 per cent of the choir had confirmed or probable cases.
That doesn’t bode well for clubs that make a living off music and dancing.
For some, the writing is already on the wall, with local fixtures like Chainsaw closing its doors permanently amid the pandemic.
“It’s tough to watch,” said Moore. “One of the realities that has come out of this is how fine some of the margins are in the hospitality business.”
With most of Ontario now firmly living in Stage 2, public attention is turning to prospects of the “new normal” under Stage 3, when all businesses can safely reopen.
With each phase expected to last two to four weeks, and the Ford government recently shifting to a regional approach, Waterloo Region could be among the first to enter the final phase in July.
However, regions will only get to move on from Stage 2 if the loosening of restrictions doesn’t result in a major spike in new COVID-19 cases. And there is always the possibility the province could move back to Stage 2 if it sees numbers start to rise again.
“The Ford government is taking a cautious approach to reopen because they’re stuck between a rock and a hard place,” said Moore. “Just look what’s happening in Florida. They opened up and now the cases are skyrocketing. We don’t want to put ourselves in that position, nobody wants to go through these last three months again.”
Fortunately for Ontario, it has the luxury of looking into the crystal ball to see how other jurisdictions have fared before making its own rash decisions.
In British Columbia, some nightclubs were able to open their doors to customers for the first time in months this weekend, introducing the new bar experience — a combination of provincial guidelines and in-house safety precautions.
Lower capacity, dance floors refashioned with couches and tables to create a lounge experience, strict disinfection protocols, two metres between each table, reservations for every party and minimum group sizes are all featured in the various clubs.
Some have gone as far as creating physical barriers between each table, and others have put markings on the floor to ensure patrons practise proper social distancing when watching live music performances.
Moore said he plans on looking into the B.C. experience to gauge public reaction and the overall success of the rollout before taking any serious steps toward reopening.
It’s a similar approach being taken by other clubs in the region.
Chad Yurkin is a president and partner with District Nightclub, The Drink Uptown, The Zoo and Ace Ping Pong Lounge.
Right now, he said, it’s a waiting game. “We are waiting for specific guidelines on when we can open and what restrictions they will have in place,” he said. “We have a comprehensive plan for additional sanitizing protocols, but there is nothing more that we can do to move forward with more detailed plans without those guidelines.”