Browns Social House, located on the corner of Main Street and River Street West, and Rosie’s on River Street, a storefront further west in the same building, will both be opening on June 8 as the province allows many businesses to open for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the mass shutdown.
For Browns, with close to 70 locations located throughout western Canada, including seven in Saskatchewan alone, it’s a matter of following their corporate guidelines in addition to those set out by the province.
“We as a company are even taking those steps a little farther,” said Rob Burns, co-owner of the Moose Jaw location. “All our front of house and back of house staff will be in masks, even though it’s not required. We want to make sure we protect our guests and our staff, so that’s one of the things to help make sure we’re doing that.”
Other plans in place include limiting the number of tables to hit 50 per cent capacity as mandated by the province, as well as putting up plexiglass dividers between booths to offer a bit more separation between patrons.
Fortunately, given the amount of time since the Phase 3 opening announcement, they’ve had plenty of time to get things in order.
“It’s hasn’t been very difficult at all,” Burns said. “You kind of see what they’re doing in other provinces and it helps you plan and get ahead of what might be done here. We’ve had lots of time to prepare, we’ve had tons of conversations as a franchise group to make sure we’re doing the right thing.”
As for dealing with potential capacity issues, Browns plans to have patrons leave their cell phone numbers when they arrive and they’ll call when a table opens, meaning long line-ups outside the door won’t be necessary.
Rosie’s on River Street finds itself in a much different situation.
Independently owned and featuring a much smaller storefront, the popular pub has worked to create solutions that will allow their many fans to rotate through the facility.
“It’s going to be interesting and challenging, especially with our limited space and half capacity,” said Rosie’s managing partner Chris Schubert. “Trying to get that six feet will be a challenge, but at the same time it’s exciting and it’s nice to have a chance for everyone to get back to work and have our customers get back out and experience something kind of normal.”
Rosie’s technically has a capacity of 30 people, but that would mean an utterly packed house. Even with 50 per cent capacity of 15, things would be tight. That’s led to a plan to have folks order their food to go and have a couple of beverages before moving on and letting the next group come through.
There will also be plenty of signage in the building suggesting just that and laying out other measures that are in place.
“The rules are standard across the board for [every establishment] but a lot of people don’t know unless they see it for themselves or experience it once or twice,” Schubert said. “So it’s going to be an interesting situation because a lot of people are chomping at the bit to get out and enjoy themselves.”
One thing that’s for certain, both establishments are excited for the opening.
“Oh, I can’t wait,” Burns said with a laugh. “It’s been a tough roll for everybody and I think most people in the province are looking forward to it, and we’re hoping Moose Jaw is the same.”
“We haven’t poured a pint since the middle of March and we’re definitely looking forward to it,” said Schubert.
