'We don't like turning people away,' Restaurant owners want capacity limits removed
Restaurant owners across Simcoe County anxiously await news from Premier Doug Ford that would put them on an even playing field with large venues with no capacity limits.
Hog and Penny Pub owner Paul Raymond said his Orillia business reported roughly $100,000 in losses because he's had to cut the number of patrons allowed indoors in half.
"Everyone is vaccinated. Everybody that comes through the door, all the staff, it's a bubble of vaccinated people. So how much better can we get it?" Raymond asked.
Like many business owners, Raymond is frustrated with the differing treatment for small businesses like his and big facilities, like the ACC or Rogers Centre, that are now allowed to be at full capacity.
Raymond said he's frustrated that he has had to refuse patrons entry.
"Thursday nights are a trivia night. Big, very popular. We will turn as many people away as we have inside, and those are paying customers," he added.
Just down the road from the pub is Angela Brown's 125 Breakfast Club.
The small eatery's seating capacity is down from 32 to 24.
"As the weather changes, we need indoor seating, so as a small business owner, the more, the merrier. We don't like turning people away," she said.
Brown said it's unfair that the government has drawn a line between restaurants and larger operations.
"I think it's time," she said. "This has been going on long enough."
The customer caps also impact most gyms and fitness centres.
While the staff at CrossFit in Orillia hope the restrictions lift for the industry as a whole, owner Matt Spencer said his is one facility that isn't planning to return to big numbers indoors.
Even though his centre can hold up to 22 people under the fire code, Spencer said too many people in the small space could get crowded. "So we operate with classes of up to 12 people, and that allows for more than appropriate physical distancing."
Barrie Mayor Jeff Lehman threw his support behind the restaurant sector with a letter to Ford urging the premier to lift capacity limits for an already struggling industry.
The mayor added that if limits are eased for the more than 400 restaurants in the city, the province should offer new financial support for those impacted.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.