No screens after 5: Halifax business facing backlash over new rule
Lion & Bright is asking customers to put away their screens after 5 p.m.
A café and restaurant in Halifax's North End is asking its customers to switch off their screens at 5 p.m. or pack up their laptops and find another place to work.
In the middle of the afternoon, Lion & Bright is often packed with people working on laptops — and its owner says he wants it to be a community hub.
But in the evening, Lion & Bright changes from a café to a restaurant, and Sean Gallagher says that's when the business wants to give off a different vibe.
"At night we want to be this sanctuary for people to have a nice space to actually enjoy each other's company, look into each other's eyes, have conversations, break bread and enjoy life," Gallagher said.
"Most people don't go into a restaurant and expect that they can do work. So that's the challenge is basically communicating it really well, that we are two types of businesses in one space."
Gallagher said he also has to flip tables in order to run a viable business.
"Part of the reasons we put our signs up in the first place was to create more safety and protection and have our servers' backs. Because they were getting a lot of flack when it came time to do the change," he said.
Backlash online
On social media, many people expressed their frustration about the new rule and Gallagher said the reaction has been "pretty divisive."
But in the café on Tuesday afternoon, several customers said that from a business perspective, the rule makes sense.
"People are here to eat and when you're here after 7 p.m. it's very busy," Nicole Galatis said. "So you have to understand where they're coming from."
Jeana MacLeod said she's curious to see how people will feel about the idea, and she hasn't noticed the impact quite yet.
"There have definitely been times where I have wanted to go somewhere and get a coffee do work later than 5 or 6, and it does seem like there's a need for that space in this area," she said.
Catherine Richardson said she isn't sure she completely agrees with the rule.
"It was a great resource for me to be able to come somewhere and be able to eat and drink as well as work, so I will miss that," Richardson said.
Other café tried similar rule
Tracy Stevens, the owner of Trident Booksellers & Café, said they tried out a similar role about 10 years ago.
"We had signs on the tables — three of our most popular tables — that just asked that it was laptop-free. Near the end of that people started getting iPads, so there was this grey area. Are we allowing phones but not iPads? And it just became too hard to police. So we just sort of let it slide," he said.
"Some people would get a little snippy about it. But overall I think people appreciated it. We just didn't want a whole room of people working on their laptops."
Turning off the Wi-Fi an option
While the sign in Lion & Bright says to "close your screens," it doesn't really mean all screens.
Gallagher said customers can use their phones or even an e-reader, but the idea is that people aren't working.
"The message that we really want to get across is we're trying to support local economy," he said.
"If you need to get work done afterwards, great, go support some of the other local businesses that are around. We really want you to."
He said he hopes people will just respect the rule, but if they don't, he'll consider turning off the Wi-Fi at 5 p.m.
With files from Kayla Hounsell