Province allows more people into restaurants, serves up same household-only rule

Inside a normally busy downtown Winnipeg Indian restaurant, two colleagues share lunch while spaced out apart at two different tables.

"It's a little strange," says Doug Kiddell, while eating lunch at Clay Oven inside the Manitoba Hydro building.

The requirement that prevents people from different households from eating together isn't going away when Manitoba's new public health order comes into force on Friday.

"We know that Manitobans want to get out with other people in these restaurants. We just can't have people from different households, multiple households sitting at the same table for prolonged periods of time indoors right now," said Dr. Brent Roussin Tuesday, while announcing the order which will loosen restrictions.

It will allow restaurants to increase their capacity to 50 per cent from the just 25 per cent they are allowed to have right now.

For the owner of Promenade Cafe and Wine in St. Boniface, it still isn't enough to reopen.

"It would basically put us in a very difficult position close to bankruptcy," said Shawn Brandson, who said for now, he'll continue to only sell take-out.

He said the same household rule makes it difficult to turn a profit and unfairly limits who can come inside to eat.

"I understand the intent but it's really limiting people that work together in the same truck together to be able to go out for a meal. Valentine's Day, many people wouldn't have been able to come out because they don't live in the same household."

An email from a provincial health inspector sent Tuesday morning to restaurant operators said, "if your establishment is offering dine-in service you are required to verify ID that shows the diner's address, to ensure that all adult patrons who are dining together are from the same household."

The inspector's direction is clearer than the current health order which says a restaurant "must take reasonable measures to ensure that all persons seated at a table in the restaurant reside in the same residence, such as requiring persons to present identification that shows their address."

The requirement has created friction between restaurant staff and guests.

"There are disagreements some days," said Vishal Sharma, the co-owner of Clay Oven, who said dine-in business is down about 80 per cent due, in large part, to downtown employees working from home.

WATCH | New public health order will increase restaurant capacity:

New public health order will increase restaurant capacity

4 years ago

Duration 2:02

New public health order will increase restaurant capacity in Manitoba to 50 per cent from the just 25 per cent. But the added leeway still comes with a strict requirement.

Hanging on by a thread

Sharma, like Brandson, hopes the same-household rule is scrapped and both are looking forward to spring patio season, which they hope will bring in much needed revenue.

Brandson is urging everyone to follow the fundamentals and support local restaurants if they can.

He is trying his best to hang on but is struggling with the hollow feeling inside Promenade.

"It's heartbreaking, but my heart's been breaking for the last year so it's just kind of numb at this point. Now it's just a matter of, we really don't want to see something that we created almost 10 years ago just die because of no fault of our own."