Ottawa business owners react to first day without capacity limits
After 19 long months, many Ottawa business owners are eager to welcome back customers with no capacity limits.
“It’s huge. Every person in helps, especially with the last two years. It’s taken its toll and the fact that we’re able to people come back in, in more numbers, is massive,” Chris Vasilas, the owner Local Heroes, said Monday.
Like many restaurants in the city, Vasilas and his staff spent the morning dressing tables and preparing for a night with more guests than they’ve had in months.
“Today, we got rid of the old system, brought in the new one, and we’re excited to see what’s going to happen,” he added.
More than a chance to recover after a financially draining pandemic, Vasilas says this is a chance for business owners to prove they can survive on their own.
“Now it’s time for us to step up and be on our own now, now that we’re able to be on our without the restrictions,” he said.
It’s a sentiment matched by Victoria Bussi.
“It’s exactly what we needed given the circumstances,” Bussi, the owner of TG Athletics said.
After opening an independent fitness studio with her husband in January, Bussi says she’s excited to finally see just how successful her business can become.
“This gives us an opportunity just to honestly maximize or use our space to its full potential and be able to invite new members into the studio,” she said.
Despite the changes, there are some choosing not to take advantage of the new capacity allowances.
“We’re probably likely going to make not too many changes here. We’ll add a few tables here and there,” Jeremy Chan, the owner of Bambu said.
Bambu Co-Owner, Jeremy Chan, says he doesn’t anticipate making major capacity changes at his restaurant (Colton Praill / CTV News Ottawa)
Chan says staffing is a challenge, and would likely make a return to full capacity near-impossible, but adds that’s not what is driving his decision.
He says he’s focusing on safety, particularly for his older clients.
“I think the businesses that continue to follow heightened safety protocols will benefit from the customers who are still hesitant to go out will appreciate and direct their business to those types of restaurants,” Chan noted.
Monday’s change is another significant step in Ontario’s plan to exit the pandemic, the next comes in three weeks on Nov. 15, when capacity limits are lifted at nightclubs, strip clubs, and wedding receptions that involve dancing.
According to event venues like the Bronson Centre, who are already able to open to full capacity, that’s the change that will make the biggest impact.
“Mid-November we’re ready to rock and roll, literally,” Corey Mayville, Executive Director of the Bronson Centre said.
Mayville says those in charge of booking concerts at the venue have been waiting for this announcement, and excitement is already building.
“Their calendars have been full for a long time and just bumping and bumping and bumping so I think we’re going to hit the ground running as soon as we’re able to do that,” he noted.
As part of Monday’s announcement, museums, galleries, places of worship, and personal care settings can all open without capacity limits, provided they require proof-of-vaccination.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.