With the stay-at-home order being lifted next week, businesses in North Grenville are being cautiously optimistic.
The province is set to end the order starting Tuesday, meaning businesses can start opening their doors in compliance with public health guidelines.
Rebecca Cronk, owner of Get Cronk’d Fitness Studio, says local businesses want to be excited for reopening, but there’s still ample amounts of uncertainty.
“What colour are we going to be when we reopen, and from a negative side, how long are we going to be open for this time,” Cronk said. “So, even though we are excited about reopening, we do have lots of concerns about how long it is for this time, and what are the rules of the game.”
Cronk says the pandemic has been extremely stressful for her and her employees, who’ve constantly had to pivot in order to abide by health measures from in-person, to online, and back again.
She says unfortunately, while the reopening is a step in the right direction, nothing is set in stone.
“It’s so hard to plan,” Cronk added. “You can’t plan your promotions. We’ve had a super hard time planning programs because we’ll plan it in house, and then the rules change. Suddenly, we go online and we have some clients who don’t want to take part online or they can’t because they lack the internet capabilities.”
Cronk says she’s been through three different renovations in order to keep her business operating in some capacity.
Other businesses, like CrossFit Kemptville, are just looking forward to seeing their customers again.
“It’s kind of been a whole new learning curve, going from in-person to online,” Co-Owner Devin Eaton said. “But the community was really receptive to the idea of it and we’re just happy to have some resources to stay fit and stay healthy, both mentally and physically.”
Eaton says they’ve done all they can to ensure the health and safety of all its members.
For Khris Collins, owner of Boss Thai Boxing & Fitness, which opened just two months prior to the pandemic, it’s been one pivot after another.
“We’ve had to completely change our business model in order to suit regulations,” Collins said. “And unfortunately, it makes it very hard for a new business, a small business, to make profit with the amount of restrictions we’re held under. So, although we’re back open, we are not open for full business, which makes our lives a different kind of difficult.”
Collins says the biggest challenge they face is being wary of causing any outbreaks.
Despite that, Collins adds he’s pleased to see a regional-approach to reopening.
“We’re happy the government is looking at regional reopening’s rather than enveloping the entire province as one whole,” Collins said. “I think when you look at our community, we have much less risk here, there’s been a lot fewer cases and I do think it needs to be narrowed down from region-to-region, rather than just a blanket lockdown.”
