Meadow Lake restaurants bracing for fallout from new COVID-19 measures

Eatery on Main is one of the businesses that was able to survive these fluctuating changes to service due to a prominent takeout program that provided clients with prepared food items on display that could be easily accessed by clients and purchased within seconds of entering the store.

As the provincial government continually altered the rules, the business was expected to follow, management would open up and close down the services they were permitted to provide, including indoor/outdoor dining and liquor service.

While she was able to make adjustments to her business for more than a year of inconsistent guidelines, owner Kassidy Dunsing said she feels as if the current government is continually making decisions for her industry with no regard for business owner’s wellbeing.

“I feel like it’s just a slap in the face that they’re giving us a new hoops to jump through,” she said.

“Whether I’m for or against vaccines, at this point, I just feel like I’m being fed challenge after challenge, and have absolutely no support from my government.”

While Dunsing was able to make these changes to stay as operational as possible, other businesses haven’t had the same good fortune.

Mack’s Steak House closed interior dining back when the first wave forced the closure of nearly all non-essential businesses. Since then, the restaurant has not opened up its dining room to customers.

Owner Peter Mack explained he was able to focus on his takeout program to continue serving his customers, but unlike Eatery on Main, his restaurant doesn’t have a grab-and-go system. His food needs to be ordered ahead of arrival so it has time to be prepared exclusively for take out.

Mack mentioned he wants to open up his dining room once he is able, but is having an ethical problem with asking people for their health information, adding he is frustrated with the inconsistencies between industries.

“What’s the difference between traffic in here at the restaurant and the grocery store? They walk around and do the same thing, how come they don’t have to get checked out there,” he questioned.

“I don’t know if it’s right to check somebody like that or not. To me, it’s not right.”

One of the most prominent issues brought forward by both owners is the inability to adequately staff their business.

When the news of the pandemic broke in 2020, this caused many non-essential employees across the country to resign from their job out of concern for the wellbeing of their families and themselves.

This caused an employment crisis in Meadow Lake that has affected nearly every business in the city.

Fast food chains like KFC and Tim Horton’s have been searching for employees since then, but have not been able to bring on any new hires as there simply isn’t anyone looking for work there.

As a result, KFC has changed its hours of operation, and Tim Horton’s has closed down its location to exclusively drive-thru service for a majority of the day.

The Meadow Lake Boston Pizza has been working to bring in new staff as well, which has seen the dining capacity remain at a reduced level as there often aren’t enough staff on shift to accommodate a more full restaurant.

The concern with Mack’s Steak House and Eatery on Main comes where employees will be tasked with the new assignment of verifying incoming clients vaccination records or negative COVID-19 tests.

Eatery already observes a steady flow of customers throughout the day, which would almost certainly require an employee to verify these health records for a significant part of their shift.

As an employer, Dunsing stated it’s very likely that she would need to have an additional staff member on floor every shift to accommodate this new requirement so that the food and drink preparation aspect isn’t affected.

“I don’t have the labor force to do that. I don’t have an extra body right now, I basically have no coverage for my staff, but I do have everyone working every day,” she explained.

“I have 10 days to figure out what I’m going to do.”

Mack reflected this sentiment, saying his workforce is already trimmed down to an absolute minimum. Hiring people at a competitive wage when he doesn’t have clarity or assistance from the government on how to overcome the current challenges is something he says is one of his most significant issues.

“You can’t even hire people right now, so how the hell are you going to find somebody to watch the lobby and have an extra person just to look at all the stuff,” Mack said.

When the new proof of vaccination mandate does take effect, a QR code scanning system will be implemented to make the process faster and easier for everyone involved. However, there are very few details being supplied to Mack and Dunsing on how they will adopt the new system and how it works.

Dunsing explained while she had been contacted in the past for some instruction on how to move forward, but with the most intricate policy set to take place in only a matter of days, she said she has been left to her own devices without any indication of incoming assistance.

“I typically will receive an email and an update from our health inspector, liquor inspector or COVID inspector. I’ve heard nothing from anyone, I have no heads up, the only thing I know is what I’ve essentially seen on Facebook, so I’m not prepared for anything,” she shared.

Mack stated he is experiencing the same troubling situation. He said he wants to begin the preparations and start learning about the system so that he is informed and knowledgeable for when an opportunity to open up his restaurant presents itself.

“There’s nobody coming to talk to us, no email or nothing like that. I honestly don’t know what to do right now,” Mack said.

With the northwest region of Saskatchewan having some of the lowest vaccination rates in the province, there’s concern among business owners that the new policies will drive away clients as the topic of vaccination is a controversial subject.

By requiring proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test, Mack knows there are some residents with very strong beliefs that will avoid going to businesses and events that abide by these rules.

“I know I’m going to lose some customers, hopefully not lots,” he said. “I know we probably have a few who don’t want to take the vaccine, but hopefully it’s not that many people I’m going to lose.”

Dunsing knows there is a significant portion of the population that refuses to get vaccinated.

She said this raises concerns as to whether they will abide by the new restrictions, or if her and her staff will be put in an uncomfortable position of turning down customers and asking them to leave.

Dunsing noted she appreciates the strong support she’s received throughout the public pandemic response, but the fallout from these new guidelines could potentially push the business to the brink of failure.

“I feel like we’ve only stayed as busy as we have been because the people of Meadow Lake have been doing their best to keep our doors open. Having said I don’t know how much longer I can keep my doors open,” she said.

“Physically, emotionally, financially, I’m just about at my wit’s end and ready to throw in the towel.”

The new proof-of-vaccination requirement will take effect on Oct.1.

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elliott.knopp@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @ElliottKnopp

by Elliott Knopp

Meadow Lake restaurants bracing for fallout from new COVID-19 measures

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