October is the new month of March. We are in the middle of the second wave of the pandemic and the government of François Legault is imposing new restrictions on the population living in the red zones. Among the sectors affected, restaurateurs unfortunately once again won the jackpot. Here are the impacts that these measures will have on the restoration.
For the entire month of October, the dining rooms located in the red zone will be completely closed, without exception. Again, delivery and take-out services are the only way restaurants reach customers.
Guillaume St-Pierre, the chef and one of the owners of the Battuto restaurant in Quebec City, believes that social solidarity is important during this period: “We didn't hear the news out of cheer, but there , what is important is the financial health of small businesses, making our world work. We are together in the same boat. "
Raphaël Laroche, a restaurant worker and organizer of a protest to reopen restaurants and bars, fears for his job. “Restaurants and bars have complied with the health requirements of the Quebec government. Still, the government is going after the industry by forcing us to shut down. "
Julien Masia, owner of the ARVI in Limoilou, lives in uncertainty and is not very optimistic for the current 28 day period. “I believe that the closure of our restaurants and bars will not change what is happening now. If we close, we might as well close everything else. In 28 days, I am not very optimistic that the situation will improve and that the reopening is announced. "
The Association Restauration Québec accepts the decision of the government of François Legault with great difficulty. She recalls that in restaurants, unlike private gatherings, the environment is safe, controlled and framed by high health standards.
 “The frustration is great among restaurateurs, because since the reopening of the dining rooms last June, many have spent thousands of dollars to comply with sanitary measures in order to receive customers safely and this , without receiving government assistance. The proof that these efforts have paid off is that there have been few outbreaks in the restaurant industry. This demonstrates the relevance of keeping dining rooms open rather than letting the population wander for their need of socialization to gatherings in private, unsupervised places. "
Orange zone
Regional public health officials are monitoring situations closely in the orange zone and are hardly encouraged by the daily results. Turning red is more than likely in the short term. What makes fear the worst for the traders.
Help will be made available to restaurateurs, once in the red zone, but as Joe Rego of the Olivia, Cellier and Quai restaurants in the Outaouais region says, “closing another 28 days, it cannot be recovered. not. We were just starting to have a cruising speed that allowed us to serve our customers and keep our staff. But now, just before the holiday season, closing again, it's going to be hard to motivate our staff to come back. "
If the region were to go to maximum alert, he would at the very least want time to recover for the holidays. "We expect, it's going to be a very different Christmas, office parties won't happen, we try to think of how we can have the same clientele, but in take-out. We make our year during the holidays, it scares the future for the holidays, concludes Mr. Rego.
In fact, as soon as a region changes from green to orange, it has been noticed that consumer behavior has changed. Several groups that booked the restaurant canceled sales, and attendance dropped significantly.
Travel
What about residents of the red zones who intend to move around and enjoy the dining room of a restaurant located in the orange zone? Among other things, residents of the Laurentians, an orange region with very few cases and neighbors of Montrealers in the red region, fear they will land and possibly infect them.
Public health has confirmed that travel between regions is not prohibited but strongly discouraged. In fact, police barricade roadblocks almost daily to advise people to stay within their region.
A memory of March
Remember in closing that it was in the middle of March that the Quebec government decreed the first confinement. The whole province was then put on hiatus. Thus, the dining rooms of the restaurants s were to remain closed and only delivery or take-out services could operate.
It was not until at least June that the government timidly lifted the restrictions. Yes, the dining rooms could again accommodate customers but the tables had to be sufficiently spaced to respect the minimum distance of two meters, a maximum of ten people could gather around the same table and all the employees had to wear the covers face and goggles.