Re-opening businesses doing their level best to adjust
Gyms, bars among those working to adapt to Alert Level 2 regulations
With temperatures reaching 25 C Friday, the second day of Alert Level 2, the outdoor patios of downtown St. John’s were noticeably busy.
As condensation formed on pint glasses under the afternoon sun, patrons relaxed with friends and conversation.
Like Dianne Jones, most were excited to finally be able to do so.
“I haven’t seen (my friends) since the middle of March,” she said. “(The first sip was) fabulous. I asked for a Corona, but he brought me a Coors … I said, ‘No problem honey, it’s a beer, it’s a beer, give it to me quick.’”
Pouring pints in between sanitizing her hands, Lyndsey Hamen, a bartender and server at The Ship Pub and Kitchen, said Level 2 guidelines make it feel like, “living in the town in ‘Footloose’.”
That’s because dance floors and dancing are discouraged by the recommendations. And any music must be played at a low volume to keep people from singing or shouting; the guidelines note those that can spread droplets further than regular conversation.
Bernie Manning, who owns the Trinity Pub with his brother, Michael Manning, says Thursday’s reopening was busy, but went smoothly.
“People were pretty respectful of the rules,” he said.
However, the current guidelines do not make for a good business model, Manning says. He needs more staff working to take care of the extra cleaning, but has fewer paying customers allowed in through the door. Regardless, he says it was good to simply be open.
“We were three months not paying bills,” he said. “And everyone’s in the same boat. You can’t pay what you don’t have.”
“You’ve got to stay between the white lines and try to make it work for the business, make it work for the client and then keep everybody safe.”
Colin Anthony
All tables are six feet apart, it’s up to staff if they want to wear a face mask, there is hand sanitizer everywhere and there are spacing markers for customer who want to maintain a distance from others.
“We’re eager to get back going,” said Manning, adding the enthusiasm of patrons has him in good spirits.
“The great thing is that you can see that everyone is happy to get out and see friends they haven’t seen in a while and interact.”
Gyms, dance and yoga studios are also permitted to open under the new guidelines. However, they have to deal with over 30 recommendations with regard to cleaning, operating at a reduced capacity and keeping social distance.
Colin Anthony, co-owner of Atlantic Pro Sports, an exercise facility on Kenmount Road in Paradise, says the business went into survival mode during the mandatory shutdown.
“If it wasn’t nailed down, we rented it,” he said.
In preparation for opening for their clients today, they’ve recalled that equipment and adjusted their space to the new guidelines.
“We went above and beyond most of the protocols due to our clients,” he said. “Our class sizes (are) running at a much-reduced capacity.”
That added to the difficulty of finding a price point that takes everything into consideration.
“You’ve got to stay between the white lines and try to make it work for the business, make it work for the client and then keep everybody safe,” Anthony said. “So, it’s like juggling a few different balls at once.
“That being said, I really do think it is very feasible.”
They’ll be screening any client before they enter their facilities, requiring everyone to sign a digital waiver.
“The government regulates that we need to be able to track traffic flow,” he said. “(The waiver) basically just time-stamps their arrival.”
Everyone is required to have their own bottle of cleaning solution and there are more sanitizing stations around the facility.
“The biggest thing for us was educating our staff,” said Anthony. “We’re in the process of mapping out the floor, everything is six feet apart, everything is numbered (and) our coaches are going to take a totally different approach when it comes to training.”
When a client arrives, staff will have everything sanitized and placed into a client’s designated station.
To maintain this standard, they’ve had to hire more staff.
“It all goes back into the formula (of) trying to make it work,” says Anthony, who acknowledges the leisure and social aspects of going to a gym will be absent, at least for the time being.
“That being said, exercise is still the best medicine, in my opinion, for mental health.”