SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take its toll on small businesses in the Maritimes and many still struggling to stay afloat.

Amid the uncertainty there's also concern tat if there is a second wave of shutdowns, some won't be able to keep their heads above water.

On Friday, there was a long lineup outside of Naan Ya Business in the Saint John City Market at lunchtime, less than 24 hours after a post from the restaurant on social media.

The owner said that because of a lack of sales lately they might not be able to open next month and he was asking for support from the community.

"The last month and a half or so, our sales just dropped down very significantly to the point that we were just hemorrhaging money," said restaurant ownerTabreze Sheikh. "My wife and I we did the math and we knew it wasn't going to last very long."

Since the pandemic started, with more people working from home, and fewer venturing uptown, the business has been in survival mode, but there's concern now this latest drop in sales in could prove to be fatal.

Even more so with colder weather on the way, which typically means less traffic in the city market, as compared to the summer.

"We make our money in the summer months to survive the winter, but with COVID, that also just hit us as well," Sheikhsaid.

This business is far from being alone in its situation, with many still trying to recover from spring shutdown.

Asurvey released earlier this month from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) showed that more than half of surveyed businesses say they wouldn't easily survive a second wave of shutdowns.

"At this point we have about 14 per cent of businesses that are actively considering closing or bankruptcy and that's pretty worrisome," said CFIB Atlantic vice-president Jordi Morgan.