COVID restrictions easing

Feb 15, 2022 | 3:43 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Troy Mackenzie watched today’s briefing with avid attention. He’s is likely joined by hundreds of other businesses impacted by the restrictions on things like indoor gathering. And today’s news is very good.

“And importantly, in our restaurants and food and beverage and dancing orders, restaurants, bars and nightclubs will be allowed to re-open to full capacity with no limits to people at tables and going back to mingling and to being to have events in restaurants and dancing,” explained Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC’s Provincial Health Officer.

The restrictions will be lifted as of midnight tomorrow. While the new measures wil allow more than six people to a table and there can be dancing, the vaccine passports will be required and masks must be worn. Its enough to make McKenzie do a dance himself.

“I feel like I’ve been trapped in a Footloose movie but, yeah, I’m happy with the easing of restrictions. The six people at a table limit and the proximity restrictions are great for us.”

It means McKenzie can bring back the tables from storage, tables that have been storage for a number of months.

“We’ve got lots of stuff that’s been stashed away so it’ll be nice to put it back. It’s much nicer to put it back than take it away. We’re happy about that.”

The banquet rooms have been the place to store all those tables and chairs, but those rooms both at the Black Clover and his other restaurant, the Twisted Cork, can be put to better use.

“We’ve had very intermittent use in the past two years. There were times that they were open but I can’t even give you a number about how many weddings had been cancelled, retirement parties, Christmas parties. All those things that have gone away. It’ll be nice to bring them back. It’s a big part of what we do.”

However, the challenges when all the tables and chairs are back and the Clover can get back to normal is staffing.