'We are looking forward to opening,' Fitness centres, indoor dining resume Friday

Barrie, Ont. -

After months of closures and lockdown, fitness facilities are preparing to open as the province moves to the next phase of its reopening plan.

"We are really, really excited to be welcoming people back. It's been a long time that we've been able to have anything that even looks like normalcy," said GoodLife Fitness general manager Tammy Kliewer.

On Friday, Ontario moves into Step 3, five days ahead of schedule.

This next stage means gyms and recreational fitness facilities are now allowed to operate at 50 per cent capacity.

"We are all missing huge components of the things that keep us in prime physical and mental health, and these facilities are one of those," said Kliewer.

Fitness isn't the only industry gearing up to welcome people back.

Indoor dining at restaurants is also returning with no capacity limits as long as diners are physically distanced.

"We are looking forward to opening up. It's been a long time. It's been a rough ride," said the owner of Il Buco Ristorante, Enrico Angelucci.

Like many restaurants during the pandemic, Il Buco has taken a financial hit, and with a push to prepare for more customers, new challenges are emerging.

"Some staff went on to different things, and there is not that many people looking for work," said Angelucci.

Still, Angelucci says the green light by the province brings with it a sense of normalcy, although he anticipates the road to recovery won't be an easy one.

"We lost a lot of money, and we invested a lot more money, but we can only hope and work hard," Angelucci said.

Complete details on what's permitted in Step 3 of Ontario's Roadmap to Reopening are available here.