Order up!: Regina restaurants cleared to reopen

There’s good news on the menu for Regina restaurants.

The Saskatchewan government announced Friday that, starting May 17, all restaurants and licensed establishments in Regina will be able to reopen for in-person dining.

There will still be restrictions, including a maximum of four people per table, maintaining at least two metres between tables, no alcohol sales after 10 p.m., and keeping a log of customer information.

That’s the only change to the province’s public health orders, which have been extended to May 31. They were set to expire Monday.

On March 23, the province put in place strict public health orders for the Regina region due to the continued transmission of COVID-19. One of the measures in those orders required restaurants to close, but delivery and curbside pickup were permitted.

The return of in-person dining came earlier than expected for Tim Rogers, owner of the Lancaster Taphouse. After the province announced it’s Re-opening Roadmap on Tuesday, he was expecting to remain closed for another month.

Rogers called Friday’s announcement nothing but good news after a small frustration.

“This really feels now like the first step to getting back to normal, where Tuesday’s announcement kind of made us feel like we were still in a holding pattern,” Rogers said Friday.

He said his staff was disappointed after there wasn’t an announcement on in-person dining in Regina earlier this week. The restaurant had started to plan for Step One of the reopening strategy, which allows up to six people per table. Now they’ll have to make a few minor adjustments.

“We’re all anxious to get back to work. We were all hoping that the 17th would be the day we heard on Tuesday and so it’s good that it’s there,” said Rogers.

The effects of shutting down its dining room will be felt long term for the Lancaster Taphouse. Rogers said the restaurant has incurred hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt over the past year.

“Our debt had been paid off and we were just about ready to start making some real money and now, here’s another chunk of debt. So that’s deflating and we’re not the only ones that’ll face that, but that’s a real frustration,” said Rogers.

He’s hoping to get more aid from the government to help recoup some of the taphouse’s debt. Right now, there’s the Saskatchewan Small Business Emergency Payment Program, which provides up to $5,000 for businesses that are forced to close or curtail operations due to COVID measures.

“It takes a while for five grand to match up to a few hundred thousand but anything we get is appreciated and helpful,” said Rogers.

He believes as restrictions continue to lift throughout the year, the restaurant will be busy once again.

“We’re really optimistic about reopening … and really once we get to the fall, we feel that there’s going to be a bit of a boom going on,” said Rogers.

As for the other public health measures, the government didn’t strengthen them in any areas of the province, despite a request to do so from Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark. Health Minister Paul Merriman already had said the existing health measures were satisfactory when combined with vaccinations.

Under the current orders, only members of the same household can attend private indoor gatherings. As well, outdoor gatherings are limited to a maximum of 10 people and physical distancing between households is mandatory.

In-person worship services across Saskatchewan are capped at 30 people and everyone is required to wear a mask in indoor public spaces.

Venues such as banquet halls, casinos, libraries and theatres remain closed in the Regina area.

People across Saskatchewan are being urged to work from home if they can, while unnecessary travel anywhere in the province isn’t recommended.