The light at the end of the tunnel for local pubs, restaurants and fitness facilities has suddenly gone a lot dimmer again.

Just as small businesses on Vancouver Island were seeing better days ahead, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced new restrictions Monday that will be in effect until April 19.

No restaurant or pub in B.C. is allowed to serve the public indoors during this time.

Campbell McIntyre, who operates both In the Beantime Cafe and Oyster Bay Cafe in Ladysmith, said he was shocked by the new restrictions.

B次元官网网址淭here was no notice. It didnB次元官网网址檛 really seem like things were headed that way. They seemed to be loosening restrictions, so it was a bit of a surprise when I heard that for sure,B次元官网网址� he said, adding he is now faced with having to lay staff off.B次元官网网址淚t was like the taps shut right off B次元官网网址� it was definitely a circuit breaker.B次元官网网址�

Jane Ivens, owner of the Coach and Horses in Nanaimo, the Black Goose Inn in Parksville, and Fox and Hounds pub in Ladysmith, was in the middle of receiving a food order when she heard the news.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e just got a huge order in that would see us through on staple products for at least four or five days,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎lthough weB次元官网网址檒l do take-out, thereB次元官网网址檚 no way weB次元官网网址檙e going to use that volume of food.B次元官网网址�

Ivens has to change schedules and reduce hours for staff at each restaurant. She said three weeks isnB次元官网网址檛 long enough for her employees to apply for employment insurance or find work elsewhere. She has patio space, but without indoor dining, Ivens estimated her business will drop 75 percent.

Martin Tang, owner of Appetit Food for Thought in downtown Ladysmith, estimated a 60 percent drop in business the day after the restrictions came into effect.

Appetit shares LadysmithB次元官网网址檚 most prominent patio with ZackB次元官网网址檚 Lounge, but Tang worries that Vancouver IslandB次元官网网址檚 fickle spring weather will keep customers from dining outside.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not patio weather at this point. Nobody wants to sit out with the wind and cold to enjoy a meal,B次元官网网址� Tang said. B次元官网网址淭he customers understand where weB次元官网网址檙e at. But still, itB次元官网网址檚 really hard.B次元官网网址�

Unlike the lockdown that occurred in spring 2020, restaurant workers donB次元官网网址檛 have the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to fall back on and other supports like the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy have been scaled back.

President and CEO of the BC Food and Restaurant Association, Ian Tostenson urged communities to support local restaurants through gift cards, take-out and outdoor patio dining.

B次元官网网址淢ost people were saying that they were just starting to get the groove of their business back. This causes a major interruption because you need to lay off workers. There are 1,000s of people out of work right now that you hope you can find when itB次元官网网址檚 time to reopen. And people are getting tired of this B次元官网网址� tired of reduced hours, tired of being laid off,B次元官网网址� Tostenson said.

According to the management team at Session Taproom in Campbell River, after a year of pivoting business models and adapting to restrictions, theyB次元官网网址檙e getting quite good at it.

B次元官网网址淭he second time around we are moving quite a bit more quickly in terms of what weB次元官网网址檙e able to do and hitting the ground more quickly than previously because weB次元官网网址檝e got the experience,B次元官网网址� said Session manager Ryan Shankar-Price.

Though the latest restrictions are supposed to be only in place for three weeks, Shankar-Price said his team is preparing for more.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not holding my breath,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 say thereB次元官网网址檚 a 25 per cent chance that date sticks. As we prepare for the next three weeks, weB次元官网网址檙e definitely looking further than that for what we can get in place now that will set us up if that doesnB次元官网网址檛 change.B次元官网网址�

He said tenacity is what has kept restaurants open over the past year.

B次元官网网址淲e couldnB次元官网网址檛 have continued to pivot and adapt if we didnB次元官网网址檛 have the team that we do here,B次元官网网址� Shankar-Price said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 almost entirely on them and on us to execute these changes as quickly as theyB次元官网网址檙e thrown at us, so we are super grateful.B次元官网网址�

Tostenson said that if the restrictions last for longer than three weeks, the restaurant industry could be in real trouble.

Ultimately, the only way out is to lower the COVID case count in B.C., something that Tostenson is hopeful will happen sooner than later.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going to take a collective effort. All of us, it doesnB次元官网网址檛 matter what age you are, what can we do to stamp this down for three weeks so we can get the economy back?B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淏ecause more than three weeks will be almost unbearable.B次元官网网址�

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B次元官网网址� with files from Don Bodger and Marc Kitteringham