Charcoal Group says restaurants ‘tremendously busy’ since capacity limits lifted

The restaurant industry has had to navigate ever-changing restrictions and multiple lockdowns since the start of the pandemic, resulting in closures, loss of revenue, and widespread layoffs. It has been a consistently inconsistent two years for the industry, but now that capacity limits have been lifted by the provincial government, restaurants are already feeling the effects.

“We've been tremendously busy,” said Jody Palubiski, CEO of Charcoal Group of Restaurants. “We feel so fortunate for the amount of support we've gotten.”

Charcoal Group owns several popular, local establishments, such as Beertown, Bauer Kitchen, and Charcoal Steakhouse. Palubiski told Kitchener Today, Wednesday, the group's restaurants have optimized their capacity opportunities and are anxiously awaiting patio season.

The industry has faced a lot of uncertainty throughout the pandemic, but Palubiski said it's been nice to see the community support.

“That first lockdown, there were a lot of thoughts in the air, 'will people will go back to work? Will people go back out and use restaurants the same?' ” added Palubiski. “When we started to reopen, our guests came out, and it was a wonderful feeling to know the businesses had that level of resilience. It was a huge cloud lifted.”

Palubiski said Charcoal establishments won't dedicate certain areas of the restaurant to be more socially distanced. For those more hesitant or nervous, he suggested dining during times that aren't typically as busy, such as mid-afternoon/early evening, or earlier in the week.

“I think there's going to be some anxiety. We've had this trepidation in the back of our minds for two years now,” Palubiski added. “Some folks are certainly going to be more concerned than others, but overall, we see people coming out and supporting in a big way. It seems like people are ready.”

The province's vaccine certificate system will no longer be in affect as of March 1, which means restaurants will no longer require proof of vaccination to dine indoors. Although some establishments have indicated they may continue this process, Palubiski said Charcoal restaurants will not.

“We've followed everything to a tee,” he said. “With the science table, various health leaders, as well as the government, feeling it's safe to go back to that point now, we've never espoused to be smarter or more knowledgeable than them … so we've followed the rules and that's what we're going to continue to do.”