Fort McMurray businesses excited to reopen — but only when they are ready
Jamie Malbeuf | CBC News | Posted: June 11, 2020 2:00 PM | Last Updated: June 11, 2020
'It was a little bit overwhelming because I don't think anyone is super prepared'
Dozens of clients have reached out to Dayna Kucy in recent days, keen to find out when she will be reopening her Fort McMurray fitness and tanning salon.
But despite the green light her business has been given by the Alberta government, which is lifting COVID-19 restrictions Friday for a wide swath of businesses in the province, Kucy doesn't know if she'll be able to sort out the logistics to open that quickly.
"In order to function fully as a business I need hundreds and hundreds of my members to be coming in," said Kucy, owner of Phoenix Fitness and Tanning.
Kucy is one of many Fort McMurray businesses and organizations that are figuing out what needs to be done to get their reopening right.
"Just because the voice on social media says yes we want to reopen, I know that that doesn't necessarily equate to the general population feeling that way."
There are unknowns Kucy needs to solve, such as getting familiar with the guidelines in place for her business and figuring out the level of staffing she'll need to run the studio.
Before pandemic restrictions forced her to close her doors in March, Kucy had about nine staff working. Since then, some have left for other jobs or moved and now she's down to two staff plus herself.
She's wary of hiring more people right away, because she's not sure what her business will look like when she opens the doors.
Stage 2 moved up by a week
On Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney announced that Stage 2 of the province's relaunch strategy was moved ahead a week to June 12. As well, several activities slated to reopen later were also moved ahead to June 12, including gyms, pools and casinos.
Ayla Moore, who runs Timberlea Therapeutic Massage out of her basement, has been preparing to open on June 19 and won't be rushing to open a week earlier.
- Alberta will move to Stage 2 of relaunch on Friday, premier says
- What you need to know about Stage 2 reopening for pools, sports and recreation
"It was a positive direction, but it was a little bit overwhelming because I don't think anyone is super prepared at this point, in three days, to open," said Moore.
Like Kucy, she said people are eager to book in for a massage appointment, including some who were so desperate that they were reaching out to see if they could pay cash for a massage.
"It's hard when you're forced not to work and then you still have people asking if you'll do it anyways," said Moore.
Fort McMurray's larger centres will be slow to open as well.
Mac Island, which has a swimming pool, library, rock climbing wall, rinks and gym, will open the running track and fitness centre on June 19. The YMCA is still putting together its plan to reopen the gym.
Michelle Hynes-Dawson, chief strategist with the YMCA of Northern Alberta, said she wasn't surprised by Kenney's announcement but said the YMCA is still figuring out its opening plans.
"I'm not sure how many facilities of any organization would be ready to open that soon," said Hynes-Dawson. "But we were anticipating and hopeful for this announcement."
The YMCA has child care services that opened during phase one, which helped the organization learn some good practices for opening safely, she said.
As well, they are able to get information from other YMCAs that have been able to open across the country, she said.
Oranj Fitness, which has studios in B.C. and Alberta, has also been able to learn from the reopening experiences elsewhere, said company CEO Sheila Chutskoff.
Chutskoff had warned the Alberta studios that they may be able to open on short notice, as that's what happened to her in B.C.
She said the Fort McMurray studio could probably open on Friday, but she is opting to wait and give staff time to train on the new protocols.
The studio won't be offering certain classes, specifically any that involve people sharing equipment.
And the studio is adding outdoor yoga and boot camp classes for anyone who isn't comfortable working out indoors.
"I would say it'll be a couple of weeks before we can get the studio open," she said. "But it's going to be amazing and guests are going to love it."