Businesses see more customers since Sask. reopening, but not yet at pre-pandemic levels

It's been almost two weeks since the provincial government lifted all COVID-19 restrictions in Saskatchewan, bringing a sigh of relief to businesses who have had to deal with shutdowns and capacity restrictions.

For several months, Premier Scott Moe pushed for a quick reopening in order to revive the economy. 

Dani Hackel, co-owner of Mortise and Tenon, says she has seen a significant increase in the number of people visiting her store that sells sustainable gifts in recent days, but that it's still less than what she saw before the pandemic.

"We depend a lot on foot traffic from businesses downtown, and a lot of the larger businesses are just starting to get back to work. So we're starting to see things pick up," she said.

"We're hoping that as everybody gets back to work and more people come through the downtown, that we'll see it pick up even more."

Bill Barlas, owner of Filosophi, a Saskatoon restaurant which defied odds by opening during the pandemic, says his business has also been doing well since restrictions were lifted on July 11.

"We do feel more relaxed, including myself and my staff and our customers," Barlas said. 

However, he predicts that his restaurant won't achieve pre-pandemic levels until at least the fall. 

Regina and District Chamber of Commerce CEO John Hopkins says that along with some people being unwilling to visit businesses in person in fear of contracting COVID-19, businesses will still struggle economically because of financial difficulties.

"Some businesses have essentially had no revenue for quite some time," Hopkins said.

"Some have taken government loans that have been available and in the not too distant future, those will have to be paid back. So we're still a ways off before we get back to normal."

Precautions still in place for some

Both Mortise and Tenon and Filosophi are still taking precautions to help curb the spread of COVID-19, even though the province removed masking and distancing mandates.

Barlas says all his staff are required to wear masks. Hackel's store designated Monday as "mask Mondays" where customers can book an appointment to shop only with people who are masked up.

"We don't want to see another surge in numbers. So we're just being as safe as we can while trying to just make sure that everybody feels good shopping in the store," Hackel said.

On Wednesday, the premier sent out a tweet reminding people that COVID-19 has not disappeared and encouraged unvaccinated people to go get their shot. About 60 per cent of people 12 years and older in the province are now fully vaccinated.