Tommy Papadotos chats with long-time customers (LtoR) Bill Ryckman, Dave Trebell and Adrian Urgiles on the patio at Christina's restaurant on the Danforth in Toronto on June 11, 2021 as COVID-19 lockdown measures are lightened to allow for customers on patios in Ontario.Deborah Baic/The Globe and Mail
For the first time in more than a year, we are beginning to imagine the life we once knew.
The postpandemic transition now under way is filled with relief but also, for many, trepidation. Some are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, caused by untold pain and hardship inflicted by COVID-19, and will not easily embrace the freedoms and lifestyle that were common to us.
And there are millions in Canada and multitudes around the globe who don’t want everything about our previous existence to live on in our new reality. Some of the changes we’ve made, the adaptations we were forced to accept, have turned out to be a blessing.
Everyone has their own list of what they hope continues to be part of our new world. The American comedian Seth Meyers recently unveiled his on his television show, Late Night with Seth Meyers. For instance, he hopes elbow bumps permanently replace handshakes. I couldn’t agree more. I wouldn’t miss another clammy handshake with some stranger. The fewer opportunities to transmit a bug of any sort the better.
On that note, I don’t think I’ll ever ride a subway, bus or airplane again without wearing a mask. (Although I will take it off in the air to sip a glass of wine.)
COVID completely upended our work world, too. Businesses have paid for office space that no one has used in 15 months. In many cases, productivity didn’t suffer; if anything it improved. Many employees were happier. (Although many missed their colleagues, too). Certainly, working from home will become a realistic option, at least part of the time, for tens of millions of employees.
Today, however, I want to lobby on behalf of one change we’ve seen that I hope is here to stay: outdoor dining.
Of course, cafés and patios are not new to this country. We’ve had them for decades. They have mostly existed as a summertime option. They have been located in logical places where there’s been room for such things. Generally, they have not been intrusive. In other words, they have cleared all the burdensome red-tape obstacles that municipal and provincial bureaucracies in this country have traditionally put in the way of the restaurant industry.
They’re the sort of restrictions that you don’t see as much of in Europe, where unique, novel, out-of-the-way drinking and dining experiences are ubiquitous. They often offer intimate backdrops for photos we take as tourists.
But then the pandemic hit. And things changed.
When bars and restaurants in Canada had their inside occupancy numbers reduced (when indoor dining wasn’t banned entirely), they were forced to improvise. Many sought permission to build outdoor patios that allowed fresh air to travel through, while propane heaters kept customers warm in the winter.
In Metro Vancouver, patios started popping up in back alleys and on sidewalks. They took over sections of parking lots. While some were pretty primitive to begin with, many have morphed into more attractive, comfortable venues, with cool lighting and eye-catching firepits. Planters warm up rooms covered with sail-cloth style tents. Makeshift they are no longer. Some restaurants now have outdoor entertainment every evening. In the city of Vancouver, nearly 500 patios have sprung up on public property, which includes sidewalks and curbsides.
This hasn’t been just a West Coast phenomenon. Stories have surfaced of restaurant owners in places such as Ottawa enclosing their patio spaces and installing less obstructive overhead heating panels at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars. Why? Because their customers love the experience.
Besides, there is no such thing as bad weather, only poor clothing choices.
Many provinces and cities have yet to decide on the future of these outdoor patios. In British Columbia, their fate is to be decided by Oct. 31. Most of the restaurant industry, which has suffered mightily over the past year, is hoping governments on all levels will see the wisdom of making these dining options permanent.
I will always prefer eating or having a drink in a space with air moving through it. I can handle a little discomfort in exchange for an atmosphere that is much healthier and has a superior ambience.
The pandemic has forced us to look at many things differently. And in many cases, the change has been for the better.
Gary Mason