Neighbours say we aren’t invited, but won’t deny us
Calgarians aren’t being encouraged to visit nearby communities this weekend.
But some businesses and political leaders in those areas aren’t discouraging people from the big city from visiting.
On Wednesday, the province announced Calgary and Brooks are being singled out from Phase 1 of
Alberta’s relaunch strategy. That means certain businesses in those cities can’t reopen beyond takeout or delivery services.
In communities such as Cochrane and Chestermere, though, the reopening is forging ahead.
According to Cochrane Mayor Jeff Genung, there’s no real worry about his town’s businesses getting overrun with guests from nearby Calgary.
“We are following Alberta Health guidelines, so we’re reopening,” Genung said. “While Calgary is closed, our businesses are struggling. The ones that are opening, I’m sure, are not going to differentiate between Calgarians and Cochranites.
“I would hate to be the person that stands between a business owner being able to make a living right now.”
One Cochrane business opening this weekend is the Community Flatbread Company. The restaurant will only be seating 50 per cent of its usual 90 customers, and co-owner Rob Filby said with the health and safety protocols they’ve put in place, they’re not going to worry about whether their customers live in Cochrane or Calgary.
“It’s not an issue of where you come from,” Filby said. “Everyone in the industry has to put in place protocols that we have to follow. For us, we’re opening (Friday at 5 p.m.) and we’ve blocked off half the tables. If the weather’s nice, we do have (windows) we can open up to let the fresh air come in.
“Our servers are going to be wearing masks and gloves, and we’ll be sanitizing everything once the tables have been used and you’re done eating and before the next table can sit.
“Theoretically, it shouldn’t matter where anyone lives or where they’re from.”
The same is true for some businesses in Chestermere. Sandra Strbac owns the Hair Affair salon in the city east of Calgary and will be opening soon.
Strbac’s already received a higher-than-usual number of requests from potential new clients and is fine with people from Calgary coming to get their hair done. They’re going to have to wait, though: she’s already booked up with her regular clients who had to cancel appointments while her business was shut down for the past two months due to COVID-19.
“All of us with businesses and hair salons, it’s been really, really hard to be closed and not working,” Strbac said. “What I would say to Calgarians is ‘Stay loyal to your hairdresser. Wait two weeks and then go see them.’ They’re in the same boat that I am. Of course, I would love to have new clients, who wouldn’t? But we’ve got to get through this together. Just wait two weeks, because they’re going to need (your business), too.”
If Calgarians do decide to make the quick trip to Chestermere, though, its mayor certainly won’t be turning them away.
“For those Calgarians who do decide to use our businesses, proper measures are in place, so we thank them for using Chestermere businesses,” said Mayor Marshall Chalmers. “We’re not discriminating between Calgary or anyone else.