Restaurants in Nova Scotia have been closed to in-person dining for over two months to help limit the spread of COVID-19, and owners are eager to get back to work.
The Atlantic vice president of Restaurants Canada said the industry has been working closely with health officials to come up with a plan on how to reopen in a way that will mitigate the risk to both customers and staff.
Luc Erjavec said you can expect the same great service and quality meals, but eating out will be a different experience when doors open.
“There will be some sanitation or handwashing stations by the entrance, there will be someone in a mask that will seat you, your server will probably have a mask, there will be fewer tables, you may see some glass partitions,” Erjavec told NEWS 95.7 The Rick Howe Show.
“You won’t see forks, knives and ketchup in the table, they’ll be brought to you once you’re served. You’ll see more cleaning and you’ll probably see a reduced menu.”
He believes in-person dining will restart in early June and hopes more information will be coming from the province Wednesday so restaurateurs can start to prepare.
“It’s going to take some time for operators to get ready,” Erjavec explained. “It’s not simply a matter of flipping a switch.”
“When we closed, we had to get rid of all the perishable goods, we’ll be required to do probably physical changes to our structures, changes to seating … distributors probably don’t have all the products we need right now.”
The restaurant industry has been hit hard by the pandemic. Erjavec said approximately 24,000 of the 39,000 Nova Scotians who work in the field have been laid off.
With a limited tourism season in 2020, he said the industry will need continued government support.
