OPENING THE TAPS
Jenene Folk, part owner of the Crazy Cactus, sports a mask on Monday as the popular watering hole opened its doors for the first time since mid-march. It’s still not business as usual because bars are limited to half capacity.
Blue Clegg figured it wouldn’t take long before someone ordered a Gringo, his downtown bar’s signature — and potent — mix of tequila, beer and lime.
As it turned out, he was right. The Crazy Cactus served up its first Gringo at 11:13 a.m. on Monday, less than 15 minutes after the bar opened its doors for the first time in almost three months.
“Someone just had to be the first,” Clegg said.
Monday marked the beginning of the third phase of the provincial plan to reopen businesses that were forced to close in March, as the COVID -19 pandemic arrived in Saskatchewan. It includes bars, restaurants, places of worship, gyms and other fitness businesses, as well as childcare facilities and personal care services that were not in the second phase, which began late last month.
Clegg said the Crazy Cactus has rehired most of the roughly 25 people who were laid off when the pandemic hit, and reopened with government-mandated measures such as masks for servers.
He said it’s not clear whether the bar can make money at 50 per cent capacity, which is also required. That largely depends on what people decide to do.
“We’re excited (but) we don’t really know what’s going to happen. We hope that people will come out and support us, like every other place — support local,” he said.
“It’s hard to say. I think they will. We’re not opening up for people to not come out.”
Clegg is hardly the only local business owner worried about the financial implications of half-full restaurants and bars. Grassroots Restaurants Group partner and chef Dale Mackay offered a similar view.
“Right now, the goal is not to make money, the goal is to lose the least that you can,” Mackay told the Saskatoon Starphoenix shortly before the third phase began.
Jason Cain is more optimistic. The gym he and his wife own, Reebok Crossfit 306, sold out on Monday, and the expectation of increased demand led him to add extra classes next week.
“It’s like Christmas,” Cain said Monday afternoon, during a break between classes.
While there are precautions in place — everyone has to train in a square drawn on the floor to maintain physical distancing, for example — Cain said he was thrilled to see many members back on Monday.
“We’re not a regular big box gym; we’re a community,” he said, adding that about half of his members’ decisions to continue paying dues during the pandemic allowed them to renovate the facility.
Places of worship are taking different approaches to reopening.
Muslims were forced to spend the month of Ramadan, which culminates in the celebration Eid al-fitr, at home, away from their friends and family members. Now, they are returning to prayer.
Mubarik Syed, a spokesman for the Saskatoon Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at, said small numbers of people — all wearing masks and using their own mats — returned to the mosque on Monday morning.
While prayers are limited to 30 people at a time, far from the hundreds who often gather on Friday evenings, Syed said it’s “great to see what’s happening,” even though many restrictions remain.
“We were looking forward to today, when some people can get together at the mosque and see each other and also pray together. Absolutely, we’ve been looking forward to this,” he said.
Forest Grove Community Church, on the other hand, does not expect to resume holding Sunday services until autumn. Lead pastor Bruce Enns said the church never really closed, however.
The church, which has three congregations across the city, moved online in the early days of the pandemic.
Enns said most core functions, including family ministries and missions, have continued.
As a result, and on the advice of an infectious disease specialist who worships at the church, Enns said Forest Grove is in no rush to resume in-person services.
“We want to be conservative, not really aggressive, with this one because we want to be good neighbours.”