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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.