Windsor bars, restaurants close their doors on one of the busiest days of the year

It'll be a dry St. Patrick's Day Tuesday as many and restaurants that would normally be hosting large parties are mostly closed.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has declared a state of emergency in the province as it looks to combat the spread of COVID-19. As part of the declaration, the province will mandate the closure of restaurants and bars, though those that can offer takeout and delivery can continue selling food items.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit recommended the closure of all bars, restaurants and nightclubs, except those that offer takeout and delivery services, as of 12 a.m. on Tuesday, March 17.

"Most of us use St. Patrick's Day to catch up on a really slow January and February, so it's going to hurt. It's really going to hurt," said Nicole Sekela, owner of Rock Bottom Bar and Grill. 

Dr. Wajid Ahmed, medical officer of health with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, said St. Patrick's Day events are exactly what should be avoided at this time. 

"That's why I wanted to get it out there, to make sure that we don't have that gathering which can put people in danger," he said. "The whole idea of social distancing and to keep the community safe is actually implemented."

If establishments don't comply with the recommendation, they could be forced to close.

'At least we have a sense of some certainty'

John O'Kane is the co-owner of three restaurants in the area — the two John Max locations in Windsor, and the Sandbar Waterfront Grill in Puce. He has about 150 employees to think of. 

"We are issuing records of employment to all of our staff members as soon as possible this morning so that our staff members can take the necessary precautions to look out for themselves," said O'Kane.

"We can survive. We can be down for a month. It's a grind, but we can we can get through it. It's our staff members with no income or very little income for weeks, if not a month."

O'Kane said he and his business partners are looking to food take-out offers to keep them going for the next little while.

One thing O'Kane would have liked in the past few days is some sort of certainty about what was the right thing to do for his business and also the community. 

"The frustration was starting to creep in," said O'Kane. "At least we have the sense of some certainty today of what we need to do. We were on board. We just we didn't want to be the location to be like, 'Well you know we're just going to close the doors because we feel that's the right thing to do.'"

"This is much bigger than us. And we know that this isn't about us. This is about containing and flattening that curve. So we're all on board and we're in support of of these decisions."