Ottawa businesses busy as first weekend of Step 3 reopening rolls on

OTTAWA -

It’s the first weekend of Step 3 of the economic reopening in the province and as reopening rolls on Ottawa businesses are taking advantage of the new found freedoms. 

For the first time in three months, people can dine indoors at bars and restaurants this weekend, head to a gym or gather in larger groups. For many this is the biggest step toward normalcy since the start of the pandemic.

"The first table we welcomed in it was very surreal," said Sarah Chown, managing partner of the Metropolitan Brasserie and Ottawa Chair of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association. 

"They were so happy to be back inside, even though it was a nice day out, it does provide that sense of normalcy for them and that we’re getting some return to normal," she said.

As the capital spends its first weekend in Step 3, indoor dining is allowed again with no capacity limits so long as physical distancing is maintained.

"The rules this time around for indoor dining compared to last time are much better for us, especially those folks like us that have huge expansive spaces," said Chown.

Along with indoor dining, the move to the final step of the province’s reopening plan means movie theatres and gyms are open again and gathering limits have increased too — you can now have 100 people outdoors and 25 inside.

Meanwhile, retail stores no longer have specific capacity limits, they must just adhere to physical distancing measures.

"It’s been a wonderful plus for our customers to not face the prospect of lining up," said Bob Laughton, owner of Bushtukah in Westboro.

"To move from 15 per cent to a much larger capacity number it means no lineups outside the building."

But as reopening rolls along businesses are faced with new challenges.

"The Ford government has indicated they don’t want to lockdown business again but without a vaccine passport they’ve shifted the burden to check vaccination onto business," said Laughton.

The move to Step 3 means Ontario’s economy is more open than it’s been in months but experts say there is still a long road ahead.

"Once the business comes back, the economy comes back, some of those businesses it will be apparent to the landlords, to the banks that they just don’t have the competitive edge to survive," said economist Ian Lee.