Kamloops businesses get creative to bring the locals in

“Right now, we still have openings for the lunch and the 2:00s, but I think we’re going into February 25th they’re sold out for the night (seatings),” Restaurant Manager Christina LeCerf said. “Valentine’s Day we were sold out in like five minutes give or take I would say. Everybody was fighting for a spot for Valentine’s Day.”

Like other restaurants in the city, ROMEOs has had to limit seating inside the restaurant and have found fewer people are coming in to eat. The igloos provide a sense of safety.

“I think it’s giving people the feeling that they can go somewhere, be with their families and be in a safe environment,” LeCerf said. “I know everybody has been staying indoors, doing what they can to stay safe, but I think some people are just wanting to have a little normalcy, and they can have this here in the igloos and be safe at the same time.”

The Thompson Hotel and Conference Centre has also come up with ways to bring more Kamloops residents in. The hotel, which is typically booked up with Rocky Mountaineer passengers and hockey teams, has recently been holding at 10 per cent capacity.

“We’ve got an arcade room and a pool that families always loved,” said General Manager Pav Moore, “but we wanted to take that and expand and bring in other opportunities so that everyone could enjoy the experience in house, rather than having to worry about staying here but then still having to travel outside to experience other (things) — whether it’s theatre, whether it’s games, so we thought, ‘Well, we already have some so why not incorporate the rest?'”

The hotel is offering a Valentine’s Day package for couples, which includes dinner for two and the option of a private dance lesson or movie showing.

There is also a Family Day Staycation package, which includes a movie night in the hotel theatre and private pool time.

“We are doing very well,” Moore said. “We’re two weeks into the promo and we’ve decided to actually extend into the month of April due to the high demand and just the great feedback from everybody.”

The Paramount Theatre is also open for private screenings.

The Kamloops Film Society’s Executive Director Dusan Magdolen says Interior Health recently gave them the go-ahead to once again allow these household-only events.

“We kind of have our two packages that we sort of tout, which is the date night for two people, that’s been huge over the Valentine’s Day weekend, obviously,” he said, “and then we have our family package which is for six people.”

While the pandemic has created challenges for businesses in Kamloops, a little creativity is helping some get through it and begin thinking of the future.

“With these new times, don’t get me wrong it’s hurting restaurants,” LeCerf said, “but it’s helping us think outside of the box, which is lovely. It’s kind of getting our creative juices flowing.”

by Jill Sperling

Kamloops businesses get creative to bring the locals in

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