SUNDRE — With last week’s start of the strictest provincial pandemic protocols since the first lockdown, local businesses are bracing for impact.
“I’m going to try to keep a couple of my staff, but the majority is going to get laid off,” said Chris Vardas, owner of Cedar’s Pub and Original T’s Family Restaurant.
“Cedar’s is going to be shut down. I can’t sustain it to stay open for take-out,” said Vardas, adding the restaurant will remain open for take-out service.
“This is twice in a year I’ve had to lay off 26 staff members. And the crappy part about it is, especially now, it’s Christmas time. They were all depending to able to work up until Christmas and be able to have themselves a little bit of a joyful Christmas too, and it’s not going to be that way for them,” he said.
Generally one to maintain a positive attitude, Vardas seemed to struggle finding a silver lining.
“Usually, I go with the flow. We got to try to stay safe in everything we do. But at the same time, it seems like they’re hitting us little guys, and they’re not hitting the bigger corporations,” he said.
“Little guys like us in a small community, we can’t sustain the up and downs all the time like this — costs us money every time we do it,” he said, referring to reopening and closing again.
“It’s the small businesses that are getting their asses handed to ’em real bad.”
The open and close cycle — especially in the hospitality industry — is very costly, even with government assistance, which doesn’t necessarily come without strings attached, he said.
“We’re going to have to pay for that money somewhere,” he said. “Whether it be property taxes, business taxes, sales taxes, at the end of the day, we’re going to pay for it. And how are we going to afford to pay for it then, when we barely can keep ourselves afloat?”
Over at the Bear’s Den Clothing Co., owner Brenda Johnston said she does not anticipate a substantial impact.
“Actually, it doesn’t affect me a whole bunch, because I can stay open,” Johnston said.
“I’m allowed to have up to five customers in the store. So really, it’s not affecting me that much at all — the only thing is, is everybody will be required to wear a mask, and the staff’s been wearing them in here for about two months now anyhow,” she said, expressing appreciation for all the local patrons who have made an effort to support the business community.
While business was booming earlier this fall at the Tranquility Day Spa, last week’s announcement forced owner Julie Wolfe to begin postponing appointments.
Although she understands why the provincial government issued the orders as well as the importance of reducing the spread of the virus, Wolfe said the roller coaster has been a rough ride.
“It’s very hard to do these quick changes overnight,” said Wolfe. “You kind of feel like you’re being dangled like a little puppet. I had to go for an early walk this morning just to get my mental state of mind prepared for this weekend.”
Closed for treatments as of Sunday, the spa will still occasionally be open a few hours until Christmas Eve to offer retail service, Wolfe said, adding she plans to close afterwards until such a time as the province eases restrictions.
“I just ordered a whole bunch of product,” she said. “People do need gift cards or stocking stuffers and things like that — we have it in store.”
Masks were made mandatory in her store in combination with staggered appointments long ago, she added.
But the most recent changes mark a stark contrast to the months prior.
“The last few months since we reopened in June, we’ve been absolutely swamped, which has been remarkable,” she said, praising the community for the support.
“It’s been the busiest time we’ve been in a number of years, for those months. Our quite time is usually October — well it was a busy, busy month."
Wolfe even hired an extra massage therapist at the time.
With a shortage of positivity stemming from pandemic fatigue, Wolfe said, “We’ll have to try and just keep that morale going between us all.”
She hopes people follow the rules, because the sooner the numbers are under control, the sooner everyone can return to more regular routine.
“Let 2021 be a better year for us all," she said.
