Prince George diners will notice some subtle changes the next time they go to their favourite restaurant.
Some of them include servers wearing masks and tables being spaced out by at least two metres.
Dave Halley is the Director of Operations for Mr Mikes who says it was nice to welcome people back despite being at half-capacity.
“Everyone is just happy to go out and dine again, I think dining out is a big past time for a lot of people, it was nice to feel a little bit more normal.”
“It felt great to be back. The staff was very excited and all of the guests that we had come in were just over the moon.”
However, Halley admits the mask-wearing will probably take the most getting used to.
“That’s the different part of it and that is the thing that everyone is getting used to right now, we are doing everything we can.”
Westwood Pub Owner/Manager Nathan Coole told MyPGNow.com customers will notice a slight difference before they walk in
“Right at our front doors we have actually labelled the entrance and exit doors, that was kind of a pinch point for us. We basically have a one-way entrance and exit so that will eliminate people coming into contact with each other.”
All things considered, Coole was quite pleased with the first day back.
“We did find some challenges as far as the protocols and stuff like that but we just took our time, made sure we did everything right but it went pretty smooth and we were busier than expected.”
“A lot of people love the extra space and I think people are accustomed to this way of life, it’s kind of the new normal and everybody has accepted it.”
Front of the house staff at the Westwood are wearing medical shields as a personal protective measure.
Coole stated working with the new piece of equipment took a very little adjustment.
“Within a day of myself working it became like normal where you are sanitizing after every use using only one-time-use menus, we are adjusting quickly and it’s going quite well.”
BC Restaurant and Food Services Association President and CEO Ian Tostenson estimated about 10% of all restaurants opened up for dining on Tuesday.
He predicts 60% of establishments will open up by the end of the month.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
