Region's patios ready to come alive this weekend with reopening

Jay Taylor couldn't have soundedmore excited to powerwash the dust and dirt off the patio furniture at Morty's Pub in Waterloo this past weekend.

It's been a long two months for Taylor and his staff. But as of Friday, it's all bright skies ahead.

"We feel great. We are completely ecstatic, ready to go and can hardly wait to bring back our staff and see our guests. We miss them.We're just really happy," says the pub's co-owner.

Morty's, known for its chicken wings, can now seat about 112 people outdoors. That's 70 per cent of its total indoor capacity, Taylor said, and that's a concession he's willing to make for the safety of his patrons and staff.

"Health and safety has been our priority through all of this, making sure staff are safe, our guests are safe. And that trumps being able to seat three more tables. To be able to give everybody a safe experience in a fun atmosphere? That means more than trying to put more people at tables," Taylor said.

"We're thinking long term. Morty's has been here for 40 years. And godwilling, Morty's will be here for another 40 years."

Up to 500 staff back for Charcoal Group

The Charcoal Group has also been sprucing up its patios at Moose Winooskis, the Bauer Kitchen and its Beertown locations.

On its expanded patio at the Beertown in Cambridge, the restaurant can now seat up to 100 people, but it cost the company well over $30,000 to make that happen.

"The City of Cambridge was fantastic in terms of turning around a permit for us within days," said owner and CEO Jody Palubiski. "That gets up almost close to normal interior dining. Those types of opportunities really allow us to get people back to work in great numbers."

Across its 12 southwestern Ontario restaurants, between 400 and 500 serving, kitchen and hosting staff will be back at work starting Friday.

"Every eight tables you give me, I can create seven full-time jobs," Palubiski said. "So it's very meaningful across the entire system."

Pet-friendly patios

Adam Cole is expecting a strong showing atProhibition Warehouse andKentucky Bourbon and Barbecue. The restaurant's manager says they opened their outdoor dining in March and students camedown in droves before the stay-at-home order went into effect.

Even though they got to a slow start this season, he says they're looking to build on last summer's success.

"Last summer was great. We were full all the time, people coming by everybody having fun. Right now we're doing a photo shoot with dogs on the patio, we're very dog friendly at both our bars,"Cole said.

Staff will be screening for symptoms, contact tracing and making sure people seated together are from the same household. Cole says he knows people are eager, but is hopeful people will play by the rules.

"Last year everybody was pretty excited to get out of lockdown and it was a challenge at times. I'm just hoping bylaw and public health are understanding and helpful," Cole said.