THUNDER BAY — Outdoor dining provided a significant boost to Thunder Bay restaurant operators this summer.
Now, with the onset of cooler weather, restaurants hope their customers continue to support them into the fall and through the winter months.
On Bay Street, Nook has invested in heaters, and plans to install walls for its tents in order to keep people coming to its patio, where five tables are set up.
Owner Caitlin Jeffs says she hopes "to eke out a few more months" – perhaps right up to Christmas – but adds that the winter is going to be difficult because COVID-19 restrictions only allow her to set up a limited number of tables inside.
"Seven tables isn't what we were designed to survive with," Jeffs said.
After the Ontario government shut down on-premises dining last March, she said, Nook was able to survive with a takeout service that was well-received, "so I think we'll be able to pay the bills" over the coming months.
However, she's a bit less confident about her restaurant's prospects if dining restrictions aren't lifted next year.
"Two winters of it? I don't know whether it will be worth putting in more work. One winter, I think we'll survive. But it's going to be adapting to a different way of running a restaurant, for sure."
A few blocks north, The Foundry benefited from the creation of what was dubbed the StrEATery on Red River Road in early July.
The Waterfront District Business Improvement Area asked the city to close the westbound lane between St. Paul Street and Court Street, clearing room for about 30 picnic tables.
At the time, the BIA estimated this would boost restaurant sales by $1.9 million.
Foundry manager Joshua Dowbak said "People responded amazingly to it. All the restaurants downtown that are now open for indoor dining or have had patios open over the summer have appreciated it so much."
Dowbak said "people know our name and know the quality of our product. We hope the support will pull us through until the spring and when the patios are back, and we'll be able to rock again."
On nearby St. Paul Street, an outdoor patio was set up at Barkeep just a couple of weeks ago.
Co-manager Duran Gerow said the business converted into "kind of a storefront" in June, and had been selling take-home barbeque kits and other items made by Tomlin Restaurant.
"There was an incredible reception from that. We were super-busy throughout the whole summer pretty much," Gerow said.
When business began to taper off around mid-August, Barkeep decided to launch a patio.
"Tomlin was opening back up, and we had at least six weeks to get in something to help add to the storefront."
Barkeep has heaters outside, but will have to shut down its patio about the middle of October, when the city reclaims parking spaces on the street.
Gerow said "We're a little concerned. We're still going to try to operate as a storefront to try and make ends meet."
Noting the bar's limited capacity of 30, he said maintaining social distancing will be difficult, but management will look at how it can have customers inside while also operating as a storefront.
Asked how worried he is about being able to stay open through the winter, Gerow said "We are in the restaurant group of Tomlin, so we're not a sole business on our own...I'd be more concerned if we were operating this thing on our own completely."
Back at Nook, Jeffs remarked that there are still a lot of customers who aren't comfortable eating inside.
What's in her favour, however, is that she owns her building, so she has what calls "a very friendly landlord."
Jeffs added that she also remains "fairly positive" her eatery will survive because "Thunder Bay has been really good about supporting restaurants, so I'm feeling optimistic."
Nonetheless, she'd like to see the government relax restrictions in areas such as Thunder Bay where the incidence of COVID-19 has been very low.
She pointed to the spread of the virus in communities where "you shove 50 people into a house for a house party...and nobody's asking them to put on a mask. So they need to start looking at where the problems are really happening."
Jeffs said restaurants have been forced to adhere to rules that people don't have to adhere to in private.
"There haven't been any huge outbreaks in restaurants and bars, because we do have rules...but perhaps that could be loosened so people aren't disobeying the rules elsewhere."
