Patios fill, playgrounds buzz in Stage 3
Residents, businesses return to semblance of normalcy as T.O. hits last phase of lockdown
Toronto buzzed Friday morning with the unmistakable signs of a city coming back to life.
One minute after midnight, Toronto and Peel Region joined most of the rest of Ontario in entering Stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan. More than four months after the implementation of strict rules designed to slow the spread of COVID-19, playgrounds were open again, and restaurants and gyms began offering something resembling regular service, with a maximum of 50 people allowed indoors.
In the city’s bars, parks, and movie theatres, residents and business owners seemed to embrace the return to a semblance of normalcy with optimism, although some still harboured fears that the progress made to date could be reversed if a feared second wave of the virus materializes.
Some establishments didn’t wait long to take advantage of the loosened restrictions; turnout for indoor seating surpassed expectations at Hemingway’s on Cumberland Street, which allowed people back indoors as soon as the clock struck 12:01 a.m., as TV cameras rolled outside.
“It was actually a little busier than we thought,” said general manager Elijah Mullin.
The popular Yorkville bar, which had about 45 seats indoors and another15 on the second floor, is planning to hire more staff.
As the day wore on, downtown streets filled both with pedestrians out enjoying the warm weather and with the hum of traffic. Most people out and about in the downtown core donned masks, despite bylaws requiring face coverings inside only.
On the doors to shops and restaurants were signs of the new normal: some businesses were turning away unmasked customers, while others required patrons to sanitize their hands before entering the premises.
At its six reopened theatres in the city, Cineplex was charging $5 for screenings of mostly old releases until new titles arrive in August. Beginning at noon at the Yonge-Dundas Square location, movie fans could catch “Wonder Woman,” “Jurassic Park” and “The Dark Knight.”
The company has implemented reserved seating, with some seats blocked off to ensure physical distancing. Showtimes have been staggered to ensure people aren’t entering a theatre at the same time as people exit another.
Cineplex spokesperson Sarah Van Lange said the company was pleased so far with what she described as “very positive” attendance.
“We all need a little bit of a sense of escape right now,” she said.
Planet Fitness clubs across the city were filling up on Friday; some of them already reaching the province’s maximum of 50 people indoors.
“I think, once people get in the door and have a look around, they start to get that comfort and sense of security,” said Jessica Sisk Roehle, president of International Taymax Group, which owns six Planet Fitness locations in Toronto.
Members can check out the company’s crowd meter on the Planet Fitness app to see how many people are at a specific location before deciding if they want to go in. Safety measures at the gym will include daily temperature checks for staff and regular cleaning of the facilities throughout the day.
At Richmond Street West’s Grand Cru Deli and Sips Wine Store, owner Heather McDougall said they’ve made sweeping changes to their layout in order to accommodate social distance measures. She’s expecting the patio to remain the busy spot, for now.
“I think demand is going to be people sitting outside,” McDougall said. “If the sun shines, they’re outside.”
McDougall hasn’t invited all staff back to work yet, and she said she isn’t certain about what lies ahead. Pre-pandemic, 60 people could sit indoors, but the shop has brought that number down to 10.
“The largest concern is how long we can just exist, because we’re, quite honestly, just getting by with these numbers,” McDougall said. “If we go into another rollback, another shutdown, I don’t know how many independent small restaurants will be able to reopen.”
Peter Gianakas, owner of Sunset Grill at Yonge Street and Richmond Street, was also worried. He said he was planning to reopen indoors Saturday, but was feeling anxious.
“I think the announcement (about Toronto moving into Stage 3) on Wednesday was too short notice, and, quite honestly, a lot of staff don’t want to come back,” he said.
“I’m concerned about having enough staff, and will we get customers?”
It was the same over at Fran’s at Victoria Street and Shuter Street, where floor manager Tony Ali said for now it’s still patio seating only. “We still have to get staff to come in and put the restaurant back together,” he said.
After weeks being cooped up indoors, Robyn Kelly, 36, and her daughter Olivia, 22 months, were relieved to be at Kew Gardens Play Park in the Beach. “Working from home and keeping her in was chaos, and you felt like a pretty crappy parent, too,” said Kelly.
On the other side of town at Stanley Park, near King Street and Strachan Ave., mother Era Farron said the earlier stages of COVID-19 lockdown, when playground equipment was off limits, were hard.
“You feel terrible as a parent,” Farron said of having to tell her children they couldn’t use the playground, in Stage 2. She said her family doesn’t have a private outdoor space and “now that the facilities for children are open, it’s a lot easier.”
Mayor John Tory told reporters Friday morning Torontonians are “happily, I think” entering Stage 3.
But he warned residents and businesses must rigorously follow rules to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19, and avoid Toronto having to return to lockdown as some other cities have been forced to.
Police and bylaw enforcement officers will respond to complaints about crowding or other infractions, and there will be a “presence out and about” of officers keeping an eye on the city coming back to life, he said.
Noting he doesn’t direct enforcement, Tory said he thinks there should be “zero tolerance” for infractions such as hosting crowded parties.
“We should just be going to people and saying, ‘Look, you know what the rules were. You knew this wasn’t right … and there’s going to be a consequence,’ ” Tory said.
The mayor also reacted to new rules for bars and restaurants released by the Ontario government that do not include his request that last call for bars be midnight, rather than 2 a.m.
He said that, while there were concerns about the fairness of closing bars early, the recommendation was borne out of public health concerns that the more time people have to drink, the more likely they are to forget anti-virus rules.
Tory said he believes other measures passed by Council and later made province-wide, including a strict ban against people in bars and restaurants getting out of their seats to mingle, will keep Torontonians safe.