‘People are just happy to be out’: Hamilton streets, patios bustling on first weekend after reopening

The public square in downtown Dundas was humming with activity - shoppers, coffee drinkers and cyclists, among others - on Saturday morning.

Outside eco-store Mrs. Greenway a handful of dogs stood with their owners in a physically-distanced circle practicing commands, mimicking an instructor. Passersby, many with iced coffees in hand, looked on, chatting with friends and family.

By late morning, lines of spaced out, smiling customers were beginning to form outside of shops.

It was so busy, like much busier in both locations than we even anticipated," said Christine Kempf, co-owner of the family-run business, which also has stores in Grimsby and Elora - all of which opened for in-store shopping on Friday after being closed for months.

I don't mean just the stores, but I mean like the downtown core in itself. Like, you could tell people had been waiting to come out."

Non-essential retail, as well as restaurants and bars, got the green light to reopen earlier this week as the province announced it would be entering step one of its reopening plan Friday morning - days earlier than anticipated.

Over the last couple of months, Mrs. Greenway's Grimsby location offered both hybrid" curbside and online shopping.

It was a ghost town down here," Kempf said. It was actually quite depressing."

Kempf said they were busier than expected in the first two lockdowns. But the last two months have been challenging."

This last lockdown was by far the hardest one," she said. Our sales were slashed more than half."

Now, the economy reopening and timely sunny weather have brought customers back, choosing in-person shopping over curbside - on Friday, Mrs. Greenway had 10 per cent of the curbside orders they had the day before.

People are just happy to be out," she said. They're happy to be able to go out and come into a store and sit on a patio. A lot of people coming in had a reservation at one of the patios."

At many Hamilton restaurants and bars, patios were filled to capacity on opening night and through the day on Saturday.

Last night was a party on the patio, for sure," said Mark Farrugia, owner of Sasso Pizza Market & Bar. There was drinks flowing, shots flowing and everybody was happy to see everybody."

Farrugia said the patio is packed solid" from 3 p.m. on Saturday.

Farrugia, a Hamilton restaurateur of nearly 25 years, said post-lockdown customer behaviour has really shifted."

What I found before pandemic was there was there was such a high expectation of guests on the hospitality industry," he said. We're not getting that as much."

People are spending more - both money and time - at the restaurant, too.

They tend to buy a more expensive bottle of wine, maybe get the extra dessert or the extra appetizer, stuff like that," he said. I find that people are slowing down their pace, enjoying it a little bit more."

Ottawa Street North's Merk Snack Bar is celebrating reopening with a few new menu items, including a pineapple margarita" called Bring it Around Town, named after popular television sea sponge, SpongeBob SquarePants, and a fish taco filled with kohlrabi kimchi and fruit compote.

This is pretty typical for us whenever it's a seasonal change or something new happening," said owner and chef Mark Baker said. We always bring it with a new menu and some new offerings."

The bar's 40-seat alley patio - a COVID addition that, during lockdown, was used for drive-thru dining - was completely full" on reopening night.

There were people standing outside, we had full seats," he said. It was a party."

Kate McCullough is a Hamilton-based reporter covering education at The Spectator. Reach her via email: kmccullough@thespec.com