Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

BARS, RESTAURANTS AND CAFES

Kamloops restaurant, bar and cafe owners awaiting more guidance ahead of reopening later this month

May 7, 2020 | 4:19 PM

KAMLOOPS — On Wednesday (May 6), the province unveiled its four-phase plan to reopen many businesses which were closed as a result of COVID-19. Premier John Horgan revealed we’re already in Phase One, and that Phase Two would be ready by mid-May and includes reopening bars, restaurants and cafes. While that’s good news for the owners of those businesses, they’re left wondering about the exact details of how they’ll be able to open their doors and welcome in guests.

Iron Road Brewing owners Richard Phillips and Jared Tarswell have kept busy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, filling bottles to sell for pickup or delivery. While they’ve kept a trickle of beer flowing out of the brewery, this time of year, it should be getting closer to a flood.

“It’s rough,” Phillips says. “I miss it a lot. I miss our regulars and seeing our staff. Especially with the weather changing, and normally this time of year, everyone is getting out biking and golfing and enjoying everything Kamloops has to offer.”

The pair both welcomed the news that came down from the province on Wednesday that by the middle of the month, they’d be able to reopen their taproom. However, at this point, they’re waiting for some guidance on what that might look like.

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“We suspect that it’ll be some sort of per cent of occupancy,” Phillips says. “Like 50 per cent of occupancy. So something like that would look like removing every other table or barstool to give the proper social distancing between customers.”

Down at Caffe Motivo, it’s anything but business as usual. Blair Harper took ownership of the busy cafe in December. After closing for two weeks early in the pandemic, he’s been open for grab-and-go service for the past several weeks.

“We did our quarantine for two weeks, and then basically reopened to keep ourselves alive,” Harper tells CFJC Today.

For a new business owner, adjusting to the pandemic on the fly has undoubtedly been challenging. However, Harper says they’ve been lucky their clientele are so loyal and that they were able to reopen quickly.

“Thanks to the city offering free parking and stuff like that, you know, making it easy for people to be here,” Harper says. “There still are some people working in the downtown area. We’ve been fortunate to be one of the only coffee shops to stay open, and the grab-and-go model has worked for us.”

At Caffe Motivo, the furniture is ready to be arranged to welcome guests back into the shop.

“When we are permitted to have people back inside, we’ll definitely be ready,” Harper says.

CFJC Today reached out to many restaurant, bar and cafe owners who all said they’re cautiously optimistic about reopening. However, they’re all awaiting more detail from the province about how to ensure the safety of their customers.

“We want to make sure everyone who’s coming in here is comfortable and feels safe and know that we’re taking the right steps and the right approach to keep safety number one,” Phillips says.