THUNDER BAY – Bar and gym owners expressed gratitude and emphasized a focus on safety as they welcomed customers back inside their doors for the first time in months Friday, the official start of Stage 3 reopening in Thunder Bay and much of the rest of Ontario.
North-end bar On Deck was quiet Friday afternoon, but owner Casey Sellers expected a brisk weekend.
“I’m anticipating it being busy, particularly at night,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of younger people aching to get out there to the bars again.”
Sellers believed he might have to turn people away, due not only to demand that’s been bottled up in the four months since bars closed their doors, but also thanks to reduced seating capacity – one effect of new rules designed to keep the dining and drinking public safe.
The bar had removed some of its tables and added floor markings to indicate safe distancing. Along with enhanced sanitization, those are just some of the new measures that will make up the new normal for eating or drinking out.
Sellers said establishments that chose to reopen were bound to take the measures seriously, because their reputations are on the line – and added that following stringent regulations was nothing new in the sector.
“You certainly don’t want to be the hotspot of Thunder Bay for a COVID-19 outbreak,” he said. “It’s like any other liability thing, though, you just have to be diligent and don’t slip up.”
Keeley Sweitzer, who visited the bar Friday afternoon, said any risk was manageable as long as people follow basic guidelines around distancing and wearing masks when necessary. She also praised the measures taken by local business.
“It’s been three months of all of us being inside, so it’s nice to come out,” she said. “All the local stores are taking extra precautions, so you feel safe.”
Across town, Ashley Posmituk was one of those eagerly returning to Unleashed Fighting Fitness. Virtual training resources developed by owner Jack Murphy had helped get people through months of solo training, she said, but it couldn’t quite compare to being there in person.
“Working out at home over the past four months hasn’t quite been the same,” she said.
That’s partly thanks to the equipment the gym offers, but it also comes down to something many have been lacking during the pandemic – human contact (even if distanced by two metres).
“I miss our gym family,” she said. “It’s so nice to get back and feel the love.”
Murphy, who also owns 24/7 GRIT Fitness, said he’d only made it through the “incredibly huge” financial hit of COVID-19 thanks to ongoing support from his members, as well as some understanding on the part of landlords, and was thrilled to welcome them back.
The physical space and some workout routines had been rearranged to allow for distancing.
Based on preliminary discussions with the Thunder Bay District Health Unit, Murphy didn’t believe patrons would need to wear masks as they worked out, but would while entering and moving around the building under an upcoming mandatory masks order.
Operating safely during a pandemic was doable, he said, but might simply take some extra patience from customers, along with extra diligence from staff.
