It's been just over 2 months since the world as we know it here in Vancouver, shut down and I am wondering about the Stage 2 re-opening plan in the hospitality industry. I believe it can happen successfully but only if everyone abides by the new policies. I walked down Denman Street on Victoria Day and was confronted with "summer of 2019". This street is lined with small food establishments with a narrow sidewalk, partially filled with sandwich boards and patio seating, and a busy road with buses speeding by in the curbside lanes. Every open establishment had a lineup to order, and another waiting for orders, making the walking path impossible to take on without rubbing shoulders. Other pubs and restaurants I've seen open in my travels too and from work have patios open with alternating tables closed to permit the physical-distancing needed, although the lineups waiting for a seat were as long as the shopping lineups. Everyone out and about in these places was 35 years old and below, the general age that has continued to not follow the guidelines suggested to the public by the federal, provincial, and local governments.
I am not in that age range, as are my workmates and friends, and I have spent the last 2 months cooking and bartending for myself at home. My wallet has been pretty full through this stint of closures and I kind of like it. I like that I am spending only a third of my money drinking and eating at home. I know when I finally wander down to the pub, I will be sad to see the bill come to me, three times the price of what I was used to drinking at home. Especially when you think of the size of the glass you use at home, that equivalent bill would be huge! The difference is the social aspect. I miss the people working there, the friends I have made sitting around the bar, even the people I'm not particularly fond of. I wonder if going once will fill my boots and I'll go back to staying in, relaxing at home in my own cave. I am not particularly too worried about the safety protocols put in place to ensure the safety of everyone in the pub, but I do wonder how the enforcement will be covered. Have they employed extra security to watch the doors, extra front staff to avoid the movement of chairs, will there be sanitizer everywhere and proper drink service procedures? Or will it be like Denman Street, chaotic and not supervised?
I think I will give this new normal a little time to settle into it's routine, and allow for the challenges to be solved before sitting next to that carefree Millenial cozying up to the bar. We all want to get out and socialize with our friends, but I think we can do this outside, on the grass or sand in our beautiful 'backyard'. Unfortunately, I have mid-day work shifts for the time being and that puts a wrench in socializing with my friends anyways. I doubt we'd all be meeting up at 9pm so I have a perfect excuse to not be out and about. For me 'normal' can wait.