Bar and restaurant owners closing up are ready to do their part but hope customers come back

Empty stools and empty tables are the scene at Hamilton's favourite businesses in the wake of a wave of closures to fight the spread of COVID-19.

The owner of Merit Brewing Co. Tej Sandhu said that seeing his place without its usual hustle and bustle is eerie. 

"We built this space to have people in it. We built this place to facilitate community and conversation — to have people enjoy the things that we love creating," he said. "It's very surreal."

Then there's the financial worry for their businesses and their staffs. Hamilton managers say they will be watching the government's decisions very closely in the coming days to do what they can for their staff.

Sandhu says he wants to be able to pay his staff their regular wages and will need the government's support to do so. 

"At this point salaried staff are being paid. All hourly staff, while they're not scheduled, no one has been laid off."

On Tuesday morning, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that the province was under a state of emergency because of COVID-19.

Hamilton's medical officer of health sent out a notice soon after ordering the city's restaurants, bars, theatres and nightclubs to close immediately.

Merit has closed its taproom and all dine-in services, and will offer beer and food-to-go — like sausages and pickles — only. They're also delivering beer to help those who might be self-isolating.

The decision was made quickly and decisively with how rapidly things were changing, Sadhu said.

To keep up morale, Sandhu said they'll cook meals for staff in a time where they might not be able to head out to the grocery store. 

"We want this to be about compassion and support and not about panic," he said. 

And while this closure comes on St. Patrick's Day, the big impact for Merit is the cancellation or postponement — a decision that has yet to be reached — of the Around the Bay Road Race. The loss of business is particularly hard to fathom, as well as the cancellation of their race breakfast, whose proceeds usually go to St. Joseph's.

Both the federal and provincial government have pledged to support workers. On Sunday Ford promised legislation "to protect workers who are required to take unpaid leave during self-isolation or quarantine periods.

Sandhu pointed out that everyone in Hamilton can use support right now, as the ripples extend to everyone in the city. 

"The city is so connected, and it's one of the things that we love about this city. Everyone relies on each other in good times and in bad times," Sandhu said.

"We're all trying to lift each other up right now and we're trying to figure out how to get through this together."

Gown and Gavel has transitioned to Skip the Dishes online ordering, and Thirsty Cactus is offering takeout and curbside pick-up. 

The Burnt Tongue has also closed all three of its locations, and will provide delivery of freezable soups to help people who are vulnerable or unable to leave their homes. 

The owner of Architect Hair Design which has a liquor licence and Hendry's Barbershop, Peter Mokrycke said that with so many unanswered questions, it's hard to say what the impacts will be to his James Street North business. 

"My 'theme of the team' is taking things one day at a time and kind of keeping positive and understanding that everybody's going through the same thing right now at varying degrees," he said.

"I think that people are very clearly understanding of the impact that this is going to have on the small business community."

While this morning's closures weren't a surprise, he said, no one had expected everything that has happened in the past few weeks. 

Small businesses, he said, might not be able to withstand the turbulence. 

"We've been lucky the last couple years to build a little bit of a foundation within the community, and I'm hopeful that that will help us pull through, but there's a lot of businesses that are struggling just because of the normal market environment," he said. "There's businesses that have just opened their doors and haven't had a chance to connect with the support network."

Waiting for details on aid

Mokrycke added he's waiting for the government to provide more detail about the aid packages that might be available for his workers. While tapping into EI support isn't an option for all of his team, it is an option for some.

There have been no layoffs at his shop.

"We're looking for ways that we can make sure that our team, considering all the circumstances, are taken care of," he explained. "The best I can say is we're waiting for more information and will respond to it as soon as possible to make sure that we can maintain life to the best of our ability for everyone that works with us." 

And as he closes his doors for the next while, Mokrycke said that the issue is bigger than the business community. He hopes that when this all settles, it might be a reminder to appreciate the work that entrepreneurs and businesses put in around Hamilton. 

And he hopes that people slow down, take a breath, and look at the things we take for granted.