Manitoba Restaurants Brace For Impact Of New COVID-19 Rules Over The Holidays – Winnipeg | The Canadian News

Manitoba businesses have felt exhaustion, uncertainty and disappointment when faced with another round of COVID-19 restrictions.

Restaurants will be required to reduce their capacity to 50 percent beginning Tuesday, and a maximum of ten people per table with only seated service.

“There’s always something. I watch television and think, how am I going to be affected today? “Tony Siwicki, owner of the Silver Heights restaurant, told Global News.

Siwicki says that since the news was announced on Friday, he has been lost on bookings that included nearly 300 customers.

“The worst time for them to impose these restrictions on us,” he says. “Since the restrictions, all parties are canceling. It’s like a clock with phone calls. “

The holiday season is a crucial time for restaurant owners, said Shaun Jeffery, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant and Food Service Association.

“With restaurants still reeling from the pandemic, these are monumental times for the survival of operations,” says Jeffery.

Siwicki says her food order for the holiday season arrived on Friday afternoon. Hours later the new restrictions were announced.

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“All the food is in order, all the preparation, all the menu planning, the staff, the DJ, the karaoke, the Santa Claus. All the extra desserts we have to prepare and buy, and the extra table linens and bedding … it’s all here, and now it’s all useless. “

This is the fourth time the restaurant industry has been hit by capacity rules ahead of a major holiday.

“We lack details and we don’t know why. We understand and expected something to happen across the board, seeing what other provinces have been doing, but we are very frustrated that our industry seems to be in the spotlight, ”said Jeffery.

Gyms, movie theaters and sporting events are some of the other businesses affected by the new 50 percent capacity limit. Swicki asks why the restaurants were grouped together.

“He paints a picture, and it is not a pretty picture. People are afraid to go to restaurants again, ”Siwicki said.

“Other industries will remain open a week before Christmas, full malls and large stores. It’s very frustrating for restaurant owners who are just trying to come up with their next rent payment, ”said Jeffery.

“I understand why they are doing it, with all the cases in the west and east, I totally understand that it is scary. But you’re tackling the wrong industry, it doesn’t make sense to me, ”says Siwicki.

For now, she’s been grappling with extra food in her fridge as the cancellations continue. He and the rest of Manitoba are looking forward to January 11, when the province says the rules will be re-evaluated.