"My first thought was 'How we are going to keep our employees and customers safe?' That thought has not changed since March of last year. Without the guidelines presented to the hospitality community from the BCRFA, we would all still be struggling continued lockdowns and closures. The very hard work of our industry, following those guidelines and bringing back customer confidence, has made the BC hospitality industry stronger than most other provinces." - Robert Belcham, co-owner of Vancouver's Popina Canteen and Popina Cantina.

"Operating during the pandemic is very stressful. People are discouraged from eating and drinking, and socializing outside the home, so that has a direct impact on what we do. Rules continue to change and we have to keep adapting. Change is not easy and it can be expensive. The silver lining has been an amazing outpouring of support from our customers and community and the collective push to shop local." - Odd Society Spirits founder Gordon Glanz.

"Part of me wouldn’t be surprised if takeout sales go down as things ‘normalize’, but so far everything I thought that was going to happen, hasn’t. I sometimes wonder if the pandemic has permanently changed a person’s eating habits; where going in to eat [at a restaurant] isn’t what people fully desire anymore?

"We are now focusing on expanding our line of packaged foods, sauces, cheeses...that kind of thing. COVID-19 pushed us to grow faster than I would have ever expected. We see that there is a huge demand for the kind of plant-based products that we’re making and we want to continue to fill that demand." - Lauren Marshall, chef and owner of Real Fake Meats in Halifax.

"We continue to have a socially-distanced dining room layout and have installed dividers at registers and between dining tables, where possible. We have implemented increased sanitation policies and cleaning schedules and have installed clear signage for guests and employees’ of the enhanced health and safety protocols in place. We operate a service which ensures minimal or no contact for take-out packaging and service to the guest table. After almost a year of these practices, they are second nature and we will continue to ensure that these high standards are maintained after the pandemic." - The Nuba Group managing director Tim Mudd.

"We have been lucky enough to be able to do steady take-out and delivery business since last March. But it’s still been a big hit for us financially without sit-down service–before the pandemic, dine-in was about 75 per cent of our business. So yes, sit-down service is certainly a high priority for us in order to get our bottom line back to where it was pre-pandemic. 

"Plus, it’s just so sad to see our restaurants sit empty. I think back to the nights when our restaurants would be packed with people–it would be loud and full of laughter and music pumping in the background. We all fed off that energy, so I can’t wait until we can fill our dining rooms again with people and that energy. Especially with our new PAI Uptown location–it’s a big, beautiful space and I cannot wait until we can open for dine-in and see that space packed with guests." Toronto chef and restaurateur Nuit Regular.

"Sit-down service will always be at the core of our business. We were lucky in Saskatchewan to only have our dining room closed for three months. We knew that with reduced capacity, we would have to get some other irons in the fire so we expanded into takeout/delivery and an online store for heat and eat items." - Beth Rogers and Thayne Robstad of Saskatoon's Hearth Restaurant.

"Revenues from alcohol and beverage sales are a large component of the business, so getting back to an increased table setting and sit-down service will contribute to the overall success of the restaurant operation. Prior to the pandemic, Nuba Catering had a very well established and loyal customer base, but since a high percentage of companies and corporations have moved staff to remote work, we are not currently receiving the office catering requests we traditionally saw.

"Weddings and other family events were a large part of our business, which has been virtually eliminated as a result of the pandemic. Large buffet and platter-style offerings have now become individually plated dishes for the few corporate orders that we do receive. Nuba has [also] had success with producing ‘Nuba at Home’ meal kits and certain product lines through third party distributors." - The Nuba Group managing director Tim Mudd.

"No, we don’t. Most of us just experienced our first global pandemic. The first pancake you make is never the best, right? We would like to think that most people in government and the health authorities were doing their best to keep us all safe. In Saskatchewan, although our capacities were severely limited, we could operate most of the time. I am not sure about how we would feel if our mandated shut down had been extended." - Beth Rogers and Thayne Robstad, co-owners of Saskatoon's Hearth.

"I think that big-box stores and national non-restaurant chains have definitely benefited more than the small business operations. The only businesses that ask for names for contact tracing are restaurants. The hospitality industry has done way more to keep its employees and customers safe than most other industries out there." - Vancouver chef and restaurateur, Robert Belcham.

"Yes. We’re all for doing our part to help minimize the spread of this terrible virus, and if the government thinks it’s best to lockdown, then we’re all in. We’re happy to do our part to help keep our staff, our guests, and our community stay safe and healthy. When the first lockdown was announced last March, our restaurants remained closed for almost 2 months, even though we were allowed to reopen for take-out and delivery. The government was asking us to stay home, and we wanted to do our part because we believed this was the right thing to do, even though it was difficult for us business-wise. 

"We just don’t think singling out certain businesses, like restaurants, is helpful. It creates mixed messages, and if you’re asking people to stay home but then making exceptions for these businesses but not others, then the most effective thing would be to shut everything down. I understand that essential workers like frontline healthcare workers and grocery stores still need to remain open, but let’s shut everything else down for a certain amount of time...and then everyone can reopen again. But restricting certain businesses and not others, and constantly moving between shutting down for another lockdown and reopening for limited capacity, is very hard on us." - Toronto chef and restaurateur Nuit Regular.