'We can’t close': Edmonton businesses fight to stay afloat during peak of fifth wave
In a normal year January tends to be a slow month for businesses following the holidays. But, at the height of a fifth wave of COVID-19 with a highly transmissible variant, many are questioning how they’ll survive the next couple of months.
“We in the restaurant industry are affected beyond words,” Glenn Quinn, co-owner of Tzin Wine & Tapas, said.
“People are just not ready to come back to restaurants right now based on what’s going on.”
So much so, Quinn told CTV News Edmonton reservations are down 67 per cent.
“That’s a huge number,” he exclaimed.
“We’re stuck now. What do we do? We can’t close because we may never open again so we have to open and hope that nobody contracts the virus.”
“Everyone’s just trying to do the right thing and that’s resulting in serious disruptions to business,” Puneeta McBryan, executive director at the Edmonton Downtown Business Association, added.
Quinn and his wife have been in business for 15 years. He said he feels fortunate because they’re “established,” but not everyone in the community can say the same and that’s concerning.
“So we can keep going but what do you do? Do you use your savings to keep going? When do you decide you don’t want to do that anymore?”
“These business owners have put their heart and souls in their businesses and it would be a real shame to see this fifth wave be the end for some of them,” McBryan added.
While everyone has a lot to consider these days, McBryan said businesses “desperately” need help from Edmontonians right now.
“It’s now or never,” she said. “If we’re not getting that support for our businesses right now then when things get back to normal and you get back into your usual routine of coming downtown, your favourite businesses might not be there anymore.”
“The hope is that we’re at the tail end of Omicron.”
For a guide to downtown shopping and eating, click here.
With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Alison MacKinnon
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.