Image Credit: CFJC Today

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Minos’ proclamation drew a line in the sand — and most customers are on the other side

May 14, 2021 | 10:25 AM

It goes without saying that the life of a restaurant owner is not a lot of laughs right now — but for anyone who owns a Kamloops Greek restaurant not named Minos, life just got a little better.

You are secure in the knowledge your competitor has just alienated a very large portion of their possible customer base by stating publicly their desire to disregard the public health order prohibiting indoor dining.

Minos drew a line in the sand this week by stating it will open its indoor dining room on May 25 regardless of the rules in place.

In a social media post, the restaurant’s owner said they were at the point of either opening for indoor dining or packing up and moving to Greece.

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The post was deleted when it started getting media attention.

On one side of that line in the sand will be a few customers who similarly don’t have the patience to abide by any more restrictions.

Those folks may give Minos more support in the coming weeks.

But on the other side of that line are a lot more people who do take COVID-19 and the resulting restrictions very seriously.

Minos just told that group it is preparing to put its customers at greater risk — that it is not doing absolutely everything possible to protect them.

If you’re the owner, you may get a hefty fine from the provincial government, but what will really hit you in the pocketbook will be the loss of all those customers you put on the other side of that line in the sand.

Some of them will never come back.

It’s hard to get upset at someone facing the prospect of losing their livelihood — and in fact, there are likely a lot of restaurant owners in Kamloops and across the province who are just as frustrated at the circuit breaker restrictions.

They want to reopen their dining rooms just as badly, getting back to a level of occupancy that gets them a little closer to surviving this pandemic in decent shape.

The difference is, they decided to eat their words and swallow their frustrations, having some faith that this situation is not forever.

If Minos ends up closing its doors for good, it will be a shame for the many Kamloops residents who enjoyed their delicious Greek food over the years, but it will be partly of their own doing.

And their competitors will have every reason to smash their plates in celebration.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.