COCHRANE— Businesses of all sorts have been feeling the economic effects of the health measures introduced by the province to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
The effects vary, as online businesses like Amazon report record profits, in-person businesses, like restaurants, have been forced to pivot the way they deliver their service to their patrons since the introduction of stringent health measures in early December.
Mehtab East Indian Cuisine owner Jag Thind said his business saw a slowdown in customers when stringent public health measures were first introduced.
“For our kind of restaurant, once the dining is closed it means sales are down 10 to 15 per cent already because no drinks are selling,” he said. “Only takeout and deliveries make a huge difference for restaurants.”
For some restaurants, Thind said, depending on the kind of establishment, drink sales can make up to 30 per cent of their sales.
As vice president of the Cochrane & District Chamber of Commerce, Thind said, he has heard that many businesses and restaurants are reporting significant slowdowns in customers.
“The situation is really bad actually for the restaurants,” he said.
Thind has had to make some reductions in staffing as they do not have the need for any front-of-house staff to seat or serve guests.
He added that they are seeing only a few hours of solid business traffic per day right now at Mehtab.
“Unfortunately, we’re just keeping our core staff, like our kitchen staff, my main guys, because we don’t need anybody at the front right now. There’s only one person and usually me and the wife, we are the ones working here,” he said. “I do go out for the deliveries as well because I don’t want to hire anybody right now.”
He said his staff has reported to him that they are experiencing increased stress and Thind has done what he can to retain his staff and keep them positive.
“We need to do something good. We can’t change a thing, we need to do our best to cooperate, we need to do our best to bend this curve. On the other side too, we need to keep going. As a business, we need to hang in there, as a customer we need to keep supporting each other, keep supporting our businesses,” he said. “It’s not only about us, it’s about the businesses around us too.”
The support he sees, he said, is one of the reasons he loves Cochrane.
Thind has seen comments from people in the community and messages on social media, even from people who are not coming into the restaurant to eat, to check up on him, his business and family.
“That’s why I love Cochrane, why living and working here is amazing,” he said.
To the businesses and residents who call Cochrane home, Thind said it is important to remain positive in difficult times.
“Just hang in there. That’s what I want to keep telling the people and to myself. It’s not going to be the same forever, it’s going to change— It’s for sure going to change. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “Do your best, give some positivity out and do whatever you can, but hang in there.”
Lorne Glenn, the head chef and owner of Schooner’s on First, has seen a slow start to the year at his restaurant. Schooner’s is a small, family-owned restaurant, Glenn runs with his son, wife and two part-time employees.
“The second wave is kind of quiet compared to the first,” he said. “I’m having difficulty with defining whether it’s the January blues or the lockdown in general.”
The time around Christmas is historically a slow period, Glenn said, as many usual patrons will rein in their spending on things like dining out as expenses related to Christmas mount.
“I would venture a guess to say that November to March is probably the quietest time repeatedly, historically,” he said. “That’s what we see year after year, dining out is not a priority until they get the Visa paid off.”
The previous lockdowns gave them a chance to prepare for this round, Glenn said, but the patrons who come into his restaurant have been behaving a little differently during this lockdown period.
“I think this particular second wave— There’s a lot of uncertainty, I think ... I’m thinking that people will come in, they’ll pay and then they go and wait in their car. They don’t want to hang around in the lobby,” he said. “We were just relieved that they didn’t want to shut us down and that we were able to maintain."
The business has been forced to operate on reduced hours due to the slowdown in patronage, which Glenn suspects is caused by both the enhanced lockdown measures, and the time of year.
Glenn’s wife, Shelly, gave up her position at the restaurant in order to maintain the hours of the two part-time staff members.
“They’ve been able to maintain a few shifts a week,” he said. “They’re very grateful for that, they’ve been with us for a long time, so it’s just part of that loyalty.”
Glenn said he knows how hard it has been for some businesses who are unable to pivot to a takeout-only service model, and is grateful for the support of the community.
“We’re just grateful that the townspeople of Cochrane have been so supportive. We’ve been here, this is our 12th year,” he said. “We just have to remain optimistic.”
Nikolaos Kontogianni at My Greek Plate has had a similar experience.
His business has been operating with reduced hours due to an overall slowdown, he said, but things are going well for his restaurant.
“We had to minimize, a bit, our hours. All of my staff works, actually, but on reduced hours,” he said. “After the holidays it’s slower. It’s slower everywhere. So far things are OK.”
Kontogianni said one of his biggest concerns is the procurement of quality ingredients he uses in his dishes.
He said he has had a few interruptions and that he has had to spend time searching in other places to get the ingredients he needs.
“I try to buy the best from many places and it’s getting frustrating when you see that they don’t have different stuff. Every week something is missing from the market,” he said. “I don’t jeopardize my quality so I have to search harder to find good ingredients.”
Kontogianni said he was expecting this round of lockdowns to happen and was more prepared for the announcement this time.
“In the previous lockdowns, we didn’t have much information, people were more scared, to tell you the truth, the actions of people made us close for a month. This year is different. People know where is the danger, how to stay protected,” he said. “Now we have the measures, all of the measures that the government has applied and now we know exactly. The previous lockdown we were in uncharted waters.”
He has put more of an emphasis on takeout and delivery options, taking advantage of delivery services like Skip the Dishes and using social media more this time around in order to communicate service options with patrons of the restaurant.
When the announcement was made on Thursday (Jan. 7) that restrictions would be extended, Kontogianni said, he was not surprised and does not expect the restrictions to be lifted any time soon.
Kontogianni said he worries about the economic impact that the restrictions could have on people and businesses but hopes that people will comply with the health measures in place.
“We can’t do anything else. Public health is higher than anything else. It is what it is,” he said.
