‘We’re a little gun-shy’: Hamilton businesses cautiously optimistic of provincial reopening plan

Hamilton restaurateur Cory Tower says he would love to have all three of his patios open as southern Ontario gets an early taste of summer.

Tower owns Caro, which has locations on both Ottawa Street and James Street, as well as Victoria's at the corner of Locke and King streets.

All three of the restaurants - one of which was opened just weeks before COVID-19 hit - have pivoted amid the pandemic. And like all businesses, they've been closed and reopened several times when it comes to in-person services.

But while he's eager to get back to normal," Tower is also prepared to wait for the province's green light.

We still have to be diligent and on top of our safety protocols," he said. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves and endanger any guests or staff."

Patios across Hamilton could open as early as June 14, as per the province's new three-step, provincewide reopening plan released Thursday - a departure from the colour-coded framework used earlier on in the pandemic.

The strategy relies heavily on vaccination rates, but also factors in daily case levels, COVID-19 reproduction rates, contact tracing capacity, as well as declining case and hospitalization levels.

The earliest the province expects to move into the first step of reopening is around mid-June, once 60 per cent of adult Ontarians are half-vaccinated.

That phase includes outdoor gatherings of up to 10, outdoor dining with four people per table at restaurant patios, and the reopening of non-essential retailers with capacity limits of 15 per cent.

Each succeeding step will start at least 21 days after the other begins, according to the province.

With a tentative start date for the first step already set, hundreds of Hamilton businesses are ramping up and getting ready to welcome back patrons.

And having time to prepare makes all the difference, said Mike Reynolds, co-owner of Farside on James Street North. The bar, which opened last February, has been primarily operating as a bottle shop for the last year.

The idea that I will know ahead of time so that I can prepare and stock up is gigantic, compared to the other times," said Reynolds, who's spent the last lockdown building a patio for the bar. This feels more like a plan than a holding pattern."

Step two of the plan will see outdoor live music return with restrictions, something Brodie Schwendiman, longtime owner of The Casbah, is looking forward to.

But questions surrounding such limits, including capacity sizes, still remain.

It makes it a bit challenging to invest in infrastructure if we don't have those numbers," said Schwendiman, noting capacity determines the size of their sound system and seating. The road map doesn't get very specific."

Unlike restaurants and bars, some Hamilton businesses will have to remain closed a while longer.

Personal care services, which include hair salons, tattoo shops and tanning salons, will have to wait until at least July to reopen their doors.

In step two, they'll be able to open at 25 per cent capacity, capped at five people. Appointments will be required and any services that require the removal of a face covering will not be allowed. Then, in step three, they'll be able to expand capacity with physical distancing while other restrictions will remain in place.

For Sokie Tith, owner of Sokie and Co. in Westdale, the extended closure of hair salons is devastating."

I'm absolutely disappointed," said Tith. I've been able to operate for five weeks of this entire year, and we're almost halfway through."

Like many other personal care services, Tith said she was looking forward to reopening her doors in mid-April, but then the province went into a stay-at-home order. Her hopes then shifted to June 2 - the day the emergency order is set to expire - but those dreams were later dashed.

She's been selling hair products online to stay afloat, and while the sales are OK," they'll never suffice" when compared to having her shop open.

We're hanging on by a thread," said Tith. It's really devastating."

One glimmer of hope" for Tith - along with the other business owners - is the vaccine rollout. As of Sunday, more than 55 per cent of eligible adult Hamiltonians had received a COVID-19 vaccine.

I was thinking live music wouldn't be happening until the fall," said Schwendiman, calling the road map a more optimistic" plan. Now, it looks like we might be able to see some music before summer is over."

However, there is still danger" in their optimism, said Reynolds.

It's tough to feel confident in hoping that we don't resume another lockdown," said Tower. We're a little bit gun-shy."

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com