Some Ontario Venues Are Choosing Not To Reopen As The Province Moves Into Step 3
Venues are concerned about capacity limits.
Some Ontario venues will reopen with the rest of the province in step three due to concerns over capacity limits and profitability.
Popular Toronto music spots The Baby G and The Garrison announced in a joint statement on Wednesday that they would not be opening their doors until the end of September due to provincial restrictions.
The venues argue that due to the limited capacity rules under step three, it is not feasible for them to currently open their doors.
"Our aim is to have the venues open in the second half of September (ish). With the current Ontario Covid regulations the socially distanced, seated at a table restrictions would limit our venues' capacity to under 15% of our 'normal' capacity," The Baby G wrote in a Facebook post.
"After being closed for 500+ days this is simply not a workable scenario to open up under those restrictions right now," it continued.
The KEE To Bala in Muskoka also announced that it would be holding off on welcoming back guests until later in step three.
"Hey folks, we are working diligently on actively managing our summer schedule of live Music in Muskoka, at this time we are working on some late season programming..please stay tuned as we all hope to be bringing live music back well into stage 3 of our provincial re-opening," read the statement.
Other venues are choosing to reopen while restricting certain amenities. Crews And Tangos, the 6ix's historic drag bar, announced that while shows will be moving indoors, visitors will not be able to use its dance floors.
"You can still shimmy at your table with your group of your amazing friends while enjoying our show on the main floor," the venue stated in its announcement.