The Spot in Tisdale's interior. (file photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Northeast Restaurants and New Restrictions

Calls for shut down, some optimistic feelings from northeast restaurants

Nov 27, 2020 | 4:53 PM

Restaurants in Saskatchewan have had multi-month sample sizes of limited dine-in service and no dine-in service amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Following their re-opening in early June, restaurants are now faced with tighter restrictions as of Friday, Nov. 27. There is only a maximum of four customers per table, tables must be three metres apart if there are no barriers, and names and phone numbers will be tracked for contact tracing.

In Northeast Saskatchewan, there are feelings of optimism from owners that they can survive the winter months, while others call for a provincial shut down of the restaurant industry.

‘A very long, slow death’

Karinne Seiferling owns The Spot locations in Nipawin and Tisdale. She was preparing for a shutdown ahead of the Nov. 25 announcement.

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“I understand why they’re not wanting to shutdown businesses. Unfortunately, the way they’re doing it, it feels like a very long, slow death,” Seiferling told northeastNOW. “Not only are they restricting our capacity… they’re also telling people not to go out and do unnecessary shopping or trips.”

Seiferling prefers a complete shutdown in the restaurant industry for one to two months and feels the Government of Saskatchewan is “beating around the bush,” as she believes the next step beyond the Nov. 27 restrictions is removing dine-in service.

“It’s frustrating because at least if there was a shut down, there would be some hope and light at the end of the tunnel,” she said. “We need that money coming in to stay afloat, but at the same time we, more than anybody, want to see [COVID-19 cases] go down so we can go back to having a profitable business. We can’t be upset that people aren’t coming and dining out; they’re not supposed to.”

In The Spot’s case, Seiferling said they would be able to survive another shut down. The Spot has been operating at a deficit since re-opening, in contrast to being able to pay gas and power bills while being limited to take-out and delivery from March to June.

With Christmas party catering off the table, January and February being described as the “worst months of the year” regardless of a pandemic, capacity being reduced by 25 per cent as of Nov. 27, and inconsistent busy hours, Seiferling believes it would be less stressful for restaurant owners if the province made the decision to close dine-in service.

“It’s unrealistic to think this will be over in the next couple of months,” she said. “We can only run at a deficit for so long until there’s no money left. At least if there was a shutdown or some sort of closure of dine-in, everybody would be on the same page. It’d be a lot more controllable as far as your costs go.”

Seiferling sees a shut down as a last resort for the provincial government, but she admitted shutting dine-in service herself has been in her mind for the last month.

“My responsibility is to make sure I have tried everything I can to make sure my staff is taken care of and they’d be OK to be laid off and be covered,” she said. “I need to make sure that stuff is in place before we make that decision.”

‘Not that big of a change for us’

Faron Saufert owns the Dam Smokehouse in Nipawin. He said he warmed up to the restrictions after initial hesitance.

“You sit down and start doing the math with distancing and it’s really not that big of a change for us,” Saufert said. “We’ll have to take a section out for seating to make it work… but it’s not the end of the world. If it allows us to have Christmas later on it’s a small sacrifice.”

Saufert admitted he was hesitant of documenting customers for contact tracing as COVID-19 cases near Nipawin weren’t overly present throughout re-opening, but his view changed when a customer who picked up take-out at the front door of his restaurant tested positive for COVID-19.

“It’s the cards you’re dealt with,” he said. “You’ve got to roll with it and keep persevering.

“I’m sure everybody wants to get through this… the only way is to abide by the guidelines and hope everything turns around.”

“I thought it was going to be a shut down. To see that [the province is] trying to work with businesses and keep customers coming, that’s fantastic. We’ll start promoting the delivery side again a bit more because I think people are worried and it’s completely understandable.”

As the restrictions are in effect until at least Dec. 17, Saufert hopes they’re a step forward in reducing COVID-19 cases and he and other restaurant owners can welcome in more people in the new year. He acknowledged the Dam Smokehouse must continue to find other methods to generate revenue until restrictions ease.

Saufert encourages residents to safely shop local as best they can in the holiday season.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow