Regina pub happy to add tables under 1st stage of reopening, but little changes for fitness studio

As Saskatchewan enters Step 1 of its reopening strategy, one Regina pub owner says his staff are breaking out their tape measures but the owner of a fitness studio says not much will change there right now.

Restaurants and fitness studios are among the businesses affected by changes to COVID-19 restrictions that come into effect Sunday, as the first stage of the three-stage reopening plan begins.

Restaurants can now seat six to a table an increase fromfour while group fitness classes can resume, albeit with participants three metres apart.

While physical distancing restrictions are still in place, the changes mean seating capacity will increase, notesGrant Frew, the bar manager at Regina's Bushwakker Brewpub.

"Some of the staff are planning on coming in on Sunday with the tape measure because the big change is the reduction of the physical distancing required between the tables," which will drop from three metres to two, he said.

"So that will impact us in a positive way. We should be able to get another eight tables or so in there."

He said in the long term and coming after Regina's lockdown measures eight additional tables will make quite a difference for the business.

After seven weeks of takeout-only service something Frew said ruled outthe overall atmosphere people seek when they go to Bushwakkerbeing able to have any patrons on site means a lot.

"We're only operating with 19 [tables]but it's still something that we're very thankful for," he said.

Frew said he's considered things like the fall's scotch-tasting eventor including live entertainment inthe mix, but he hasn't started to properly evaluate yet, as the province's reopening plans which are based on hitting vaccination targets could still change.

Fitness studio looking past Stage 1

For Wheelhouse Cycle Club, a stationary bike fitness program host based inRegina, Sunday's change won't mean much.

Although Step 1 means fitness classes can happen in-person, a three-metre space is still requiredbetween participants. That means only four or five bikes at a time would be able to run at Wheelhouse, co-founder and CEO Kyle Gibson said.

He's already looking forward to the next steps of the province's reopening.

"Based on the incredible pace that things seem to be moving at, we should be able to hit Phase 3in the start of July," he said.

"It looks like we'll be able to open in a substantial capacity just after that point."

Wheelhouse was able to become an online business as much as it was a physical business through the pandemic, he says.

Even as the next stages of Saskatchewan's reopening approach,Gibson saysthe digital side of the business is something he plansto keep going.

"We have some people who would love to come but they just can't get there for family commitments or time, or they just don't live near one of our studios," he said.

"It's been amazing to give that opportunity to more people."