Many Halifax businesses are breathing a sigh of relief since the partial reopening of the Nova Scotia economy on June 2.
Restaurants are hoping that the summer-like weather will bring a small crowd to their patios, and other industries are banking on foot traffic creating much-needed revenue, even if it’s just at 25 percent capacity.
But the latest Covid-19 lockdown, which began all the way back in April, has left many businesses frustrated and financially hurting.
Several business owners spoke out in late May to express their displeasure with the restrictions and to inform people of the hardship facing small businesses.
Brendan Doherty, one of the owners of The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse in downtown Halifax, says his business has lost more than $70,000 since the lockdown began. Expenses like equipment rental, taxes, and rent, don’t go away just because the government orders a lockdown.
“There are always expenses when you run a bar and they don’t necessarily stop when you close your doors,” says Doherty.
He emphasizes that this large number doesn’t even account for lost revenue since the start of the lockdown.
“We don’t even consider lost revenue anymore; it’s been 14 months of on-and-off shutdowns. Thinking about the lost revenue has been a futile exercise.”
“We’re very fortunate; we’ve budgeted ourselves well through this. We’re not in any danger of disappearing in the next couple of weeks.”
Meanwhile, Bruce Herron, the owner of The Highlander Spa, says he has lost more than $60,000 since late April. He doesn’t know how much longer he can continue pumping money into a business that can’t generate revenue.
“When you now have to shut down three or four times, we’re all now depleting our bank accounts trying to stay open for the reopen and our cash reserves are getting seriously depleted,” he said.
Both Doherty and Herron say the government made a huge error in judgment when they allowed big box stores to sell their non-essential goods along with their essential items. This decision, they say, is where the government lost a lot of support for this latest economic lockdown.
“There just seems to be different standards,” adds Herron. “I know big box stores are easy to pick on but there are different standards there. It’s the smaller businesses that seem to take the brunt each and every time, each and every shutdown.”
Staying afloat has been especially hard for The Highlander Spa since it never qualified for any of the federal business support programs. Herron opened the Spa in 2020 during the pandemic, which meant the business was too young to receive federal help.
Herron has been questioned many times on why he chose to open a new business during the pandemic. But he points out that most businesses that opened last year had made commitments in 2019 and were victims of bad luck.
“What a silly question (about why I opened in 2020). The plans were done by the end of 2019 -leases were signed; commitments were made; we were halfway through the build when Covid hit.”
The provincial government recently renewed the small business impact grants, which will give affected businesses $5,000. But for small business owners bleeding money, that grant is just a drop in the bucket at this point in time.
“It certainly means a little bit of help. Will it be enough? It’s a help but it’s far from covering it.”
It’s also been incredibly hard for The Old Triangle to bring in any extra revenue. As a pub that is popular as a dine-in destination, doing takeout and delivery doesn’t work all that well.
“We have 8,000 square feet here; we can’t offer takeout and delivery to keep these bills paid,” said Doherty.
“A big part of our allure is actually coming to our atmosphere and enjoying it.”
Herron believes that small businesses can operate safely under the old guidelines that were in place prior to April’s shutdown. He thinks business owners have shown great care in keeping their spaces clean and socially distanced through the pandemic.
“Let’s get open; vaccination rates are climbing…but let’s get open with the guidelines for the summer.”
“Another shutdown is not acceptable; another shutdown just can’t happen…it’ll put many businesses out of business.”
Derek Montague is a reporter with HuddleToday.ca
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