“It’s like opening a new business all over again,” says Barton barber as reopening remains a mystery
For Hamiltonians, patio season is on hold, dog clippers are still the next best thing and those pesky nail beds will have to be put on the back-burner.
On Monday, Premier Doug Ford announced current pandemic restrictions will remain largely in place in hot spots like Hamilton and Halton as most of Ontario moves on to the next stage of reopening on June 12.
The Hamilton Spectator spoke to three businesses that are impacted by the reopening date that remains a mystery.
Defeating the purpose'
Carmen Cifani says the province's lack of restrictions on travelling amid the reopening of the province sounds like an oxymoron" to her.
An esthetician by profession, Cifani operates her own spa and wellness centre inside her Hamilton Mountain home.
She is one of many small business owners that will have to wait to reopen as neighbouring cities such as Brantford can begin to welcome visitors.
You're defeating the purpose," said Cifani. You're basically telling them to go ahead and spread."
Working in the industry for 37 years, Cifani said prior to COVID-19, she already wore a mask day-to-day, everything was sanitized and no more than one client was in the same room.
In preparation of reopening, she's ordered additional hand sanitizer, face masks for clients as well as a thermometer for temperature checks.
I don't know where everybody else has been," said Cifani.
Double-edged sword'
Peter Mokrycke says the news of a delayed reopening date for barbershops in Hamilton allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief."
His Barton Street East shop, Hendry's Barbershop, has been closed since mid-March due to the provincial lockdown.
Getting prepared for reopening has been a process that started since the day they closed their doors, said Mokrycke. As of Tuesday, they weren't quite ready," so a delay has allowed them to get to where they need to be as a shop, he added.
It's retraining your staff, re-educating your customers and literally changing the physical makeup of your shop," said Mokrycke. It's like opening a new business all over again."
But, the news didn't come without the pain of considering what a further delay will cost them financially - the shop has been without its main revenue source for nearly three months.
It's not been easy to keep the doors open or keep the doors there at all," he said. It's a bit of a double-edged sword."
Extend the pain'
Radius president Ian Ladd says he and his staff will have more time to prepare" as Hamilton waits for its reopening date.
The James Street South restaurant is one of hundreds waiting to reopen its patio. But before they can welcome diners, Ladd said they are reconfiguring their patios to suit current physical-distancing measures.
Their double-decker patio - with a capacity of 200 people - will be cut in half, seating only 100 people at one time.
We have quite a large restaurant so that should help us," said Ladd.
Like Cifani, Ladd said the idea that folks can leave town for a bite to eat on a patio in Brantford does kind of contradict the reasoning for not opening up Hamilton."
Hamilton has been noted as a hot spot for infection in the province, joining the ranks of Toronto and Windsor-Essex.
It does kind of make you wonder why you'd be allowed to do that," he said.
Ladd said the restaurant has felt the loss of 85 per cent of its normal revenue even with takeout offerings. Those margins - dominating their books since March - aren't getting any easier to take, he added.
We're eager to open," said Ladd. (The delay) will extend the pain of that."
Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com-With files from Joanna Frketich