Many restaurants in N.S. hoping the first weekend in Phase 2 will be a big one
Many restaurants in Nova Scotia are hoping the combination of sunny, warm weather and Father’s Day crowds will mean a good first weekend kick-start for business during Phase 2 of Nova Scotia's COVID-19 reopening plan.
Indoor dining resumed on Wednesday, but at JJ’s Plant-Based Eats in downtown Sydney, N.S., they waited until Friday to reopen, to make sure they were ready to capitalize on the weekend crowds.
"One of the reasons we focused on opening for Friday this week, and into tomorrow on Saturday, was to kind of ramp up for today and tomorrow," said James MacDonald, a co-ownerof JJ's Plant-Based Eats.
Temperatures in Sydney were in the mid-20s Friday and warm, sunny weather is expected again on Saturday, along with Father’s Day on Sunday. MacDonald says the nice weather is an ideal one-two punch to kick-start his restaurant’s reopening with a big weekend of sales.
“It’s our first Saturday being open for a couple of weeks now and brunch was one of our biggest days prior to having to shut down. So, we’re expecting to be really busy," MacDonald said.
At Lebanese Flower in Sydney, N.S. - a family-owned Lebanese restaurant - they managed the recent lockdown thanks to takeout and delivery.
"It’s been hard with COVID, but the community has been really supportive," says co-owner Ray Kaseem.
Now, Lebanese Flower is preparing for more delivery orders on Father’s Day, while welcoming customers back into the dining room as well.
"With summertime, we depend also on tourists coming in. So, we want more people to come in," Kaseem says.
Michelle Wilson, the executive director of the Downtown Sydney Development Association, says she’s hoping for spin-off traffic from the restaurant crowds over the weekend - in a downtown that’s been quiet since the third wave of COVID-19 began.
"I’m going to say our restaurants will be very busy starting tomorrow, and patios will be full”, Wilson tells CTV Atlantic. "We’d like to invite people also to rediscover just how many shops and services we have downtown.”
Back at James MacDonald’s restaurant, which went into business just days before the Covid-19 crisis started in the Maritimes back in March 2020, they’re hoping all of the shutdowns and restrictions are behind them.
"People have been ready and wanting to get out of the house for a number of weeks," said MacDonald. "So, I think this could be the busiest Saturday. Not just for us here at JJ’s, but around town. I think you’re going to see a lot of people out.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.