It’s lunch time on a warm, sunny fall day, but Ye Olde Orchard’s terrace is almost empty.
“We are currently functioning at about 60 percent capacity of where we were at the same time last year and that is due to a number of reasons,” says Michael Whitty, co-owner of the popular neighbourhood pub.
“The first being the public fear and apprehension of actually coming into bars and the second being the media– I don’t want to use the word ‘attack,’ but that seems to be the only way to say it– on bars and restaurants.” Whitty adds that social distancing requirements also account for a loss of clientele.
Whitty says the bar industry has been considered “the bad guy” of the COVID 19 outbreak.
“I understand why it happened. Every situation needs a bad guy and unfortunately, we were that bad guy,” he says.
“The finger was pointed in the wrong direction, and it was pointed in the direction of the service industry far too quickly. If they had waited and seen what was actually going on with COVID, they would have seen that the majority of cases, and that’s what we’ve seen this weekend, were actually coming from private gatherings, weddings, or small house parties,” says Whitty.
When Montreal reached code orange alert level this past weekend, the number of people allowed at private gathering was reduced to six. Officials acknowledged that unregulated gatherings are the major source of community transmission.
And yet the Quebec government has continued to place restrictions on bars, now forcing them to close at 11 pm.
Blaming drinking establishments for society’s ills is nothing new in Montreal. The metropolis’ designation of “sin city” has always been accompanied by a strong, conservative counter current. The English community’s Scottish Presbyterian roots have made teetotaling a facet of its culture since the mid-eighteen-hundreds.
In 1919, Quebec’s dalliance with prohibition only lasted a few months. However, reformers, most notably long time mayor Jean Drapeau, have always sought to curtail Montreal’s nightlife by placing stricter limits on liquor sales.
Whitty says that while there have been some high-profile exceptions, most bars and restaurants have done a good job of complying with the government’s COVID 19 regulations.
Places like Ye Olde Orchard have set up sanitization stations, require patrons to sign in using a registry, ensure staff and patrons wear masks, and maintain social distancing regulations while keeping clientele to a bare minimum.
And yet Whitty says none of these efforts have succeeded in altering the public’s perception that bars are the source of immoral, irresponsible behaviour when it comes to COVID 19.
While he agrees that all of the measures are necessary, he says the government’s restrictions on bars “have been excessive” considering that schools have now reopened, with far few restrictions.
At Next Door, a pub on Sherbrooke Street, general manager Jay Travis rushes around behind the bar wiping down surfaces and cleaning the ATM machine every time it is used.
Travis says the pub has been extraordinarily strict and that his customers have no problem obeying the new COVID rules.
“The good thing for us is that 99 percent of the people that come through these doors we actually know personally, so we have a very loyal customer base, which makes it a lot easier for us to enforce the rules, and not have arguments with clients who might be opposed to wearing masks,” he says.
Travis, whose shift has now been slashed from eight hours down to four because of new regulations, says that closing at 11 pm is going to have a detrimental effect on the bar. Their biggest earning hours are between 8-12 and 1-3.
The popular bartender says the pandemic has already caused the pub to lay off about half their staff.
“We are trying hard to make sure we can keep our staff employed. What does anger me is that there are establishments that I have personally been to that I have had to walk out of because of the fact that they lost so much revenue, or because they have generated so much money in the past, they are just willing to pay a fine. They are letting everyone down in the industry. One selfish act has a domino effect,” he says.
Travis says that Next Door will likely be able to stay afloat simply because it’s a neighbourhood establishment.
The customers who are seated around the bar agree with him.
“I support my local pub with all my heart and my wallet,” says one regular, a man in his fifties, who didn’t want his name used.
He adds that the public has the wrong idea about what actually goes on at places like Next Door.
“The epidemiologists are saying that it’s not bars and restaurants that are the problem. If we could just stick with the science, it would be okay. Social media can be a feeding frenzy. We need to distinguish between that, and facts, and we need to just stop following the crowd, which can be an easy reflex,” he says.
Yan Charest is a 23-year-old who works as a busboy at La Ronde. He’s been a regular at Next Door for about two years.
“I like the community feel. I really latched onto it. I started coming here at a down point in my life, and everyone was immediately supportive. You immediately feel included,” he says.
Charest describes a surprise birthday party staff held for one of the regulars and shows off his Next Door face mask. It’s emblazoned with the bar’s logo, is made of thick material and features a metal nose clip.
“The focus has been on the downtown bars, but these local bars actually care about the people who are here,” says Charest. “To see it leave would be really sad. It’s a pillar in the area.”
Whitty also says that Ye Olde Orchard on Monkland has been spared some of the blows that are decimating the industry, because NDGers have been so supportive of their local pub.
“The majority of our clients are people who’ve known the bar for many, many years now. Some of them have been coming here since the day we opened. It’s a very important part of their social life. It’s a place where they can see their friends a few times a week, a comfortable environment where they are going to be safe,” says Whitty.
