Many Montreal restaurateurs have chosen to close their doors as the holidays approach, in some cases because several employees have been infected with COVID-19, and in others, to avoid becoming a place of the spread of the disease. virus.
This is the decision made Sunday by chef and co-owner of restaurant BarBara Vin, David Pellizzari, after 13 of his team of 38 employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Several members of a group of customers who frequented the restaurant in the Saint-Henri district were diagnosed positive for COVID-19 and subsequently notified the restaurant on Monday. David Pellizzari has asked his employees to go for a screening test. “The only responsible decision at this point was to close the square,” said the chef on Sunday, in an interview with Press.
His company is not the only one in this situation. On social networks, several restaurants have announced that they are suspending their activities, including the Bistro Pastaga, the bar vinvinvin and the pizzeria Pizza Bouquet for different durations.
It’s unbelievable, our industry was really hit quickly, at the worst possible time. We know that January and February are tough for us. We depend on the last weeks of December. There are many people [pour qui] closing now on that date, it’s gonna hurt really bad.
David Pellizzari
Michaël Ruel, co-owner of the Isle de Garde brewery, located in La Petite-Patrie, has also decided to close his establishment. Above all, he wanted to prevent his company from becoming a place of transmission of the virus in the sector. “We have a lot of cases in schools and daycares in the neighborhood at the moment,” he said. “We are very vigilant here, but this is not the case for all of our customers, unfortunately,” he continued.
“We are a neighborhood company [qui] helps restore pride to the neighborhood, but it can also do the opposite, and that we don’t want, ”said Mr. Ruel.
This week, two customers who spent the evening at the brasserie informed Isle de Garde that they had contracted COVID-19. The employees who worked on the evening in question went to be tested for COVID-19; the tests were negative. But on Sunday, an employee tested positive for the virus.
By closing the restaurant, Mr. Ruel also wanted to give his employees the chance to see their loved ones during the holidays, “without having the fear of bringing COVID back to their families”. The co-owner thus wanted to ensure the safety of his employees, by allowing them to go for a second test. “We don’t want to live the same Christmas as last year,” he said.
Michaël Ruel hopes to be able to reopen the gates of Isle de Garde on December 27. “If we are not obligatorily closed by the government, because there is something going on around our heads at the moment,” he added.
Government assistance hoped for
The co-owner of Isle de Garde wonders whether the government will allocate new subsidies to restaurateurs, when the company has closed its doors at his expense. “It is our pocket money that we are in the process of letting go”, he said, stressing that the decision was nevertheless taken “in full knowledge of the facts”.
“I keep my fingers crossed that the government is going to give more subsidies,” said David Pellizzari for his part. The co-owner of BarBara Vin has not yet planned the reopening of his restaurant.
“We will respect our staff. It’s gonna be a team decision made together, when we feel [en sécurité] and ready to open the doors in a good way, ”he explained.