Cranbrook’s McDonald’s, like many other restaurants and businesses, are adjusting to the new provincial health guidelines as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Dave Kaiser, Owner and Operator of Cranbrook’s McDonald’s restaurant said it has been quite a change for all of their stores.
“Just Tuesday morning we closed all of the lobbies of all McDonald’s restaurants right across North America all at once,” Kaiser told MyEastKootenayNow.com. “It’s just to limit the contact of people with people so that’s the way we’re going about it.”
Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer announced earlier this week that all bars and clubs were forced to close because they wouldn’t be able to meet the social distancing requirement of one to two metres.
“There are many places in our community that aren’t able to meet the requirements of those criteria under the order gatherings and others,” explained Henry. “For example, bars and clubs, in my opinion, are not able to meet our test for social distancing, and therefore, must close. Restaurants and cafes in some cases can meet these criteria for physical distancing, but those that cannot will need to close or move to take-out and delivery services.”
McDonald’s, like other restaurants in Cranbrook, are adjusting to the new measures and focusing on their delivery and take-out models to meet the new guidelines.
Kaiser said, even for a fast-food restaurant, it has been a difficult adjustment.
“You really got to take it day-by-day, hour-by-hour and react accordingly. For business, for commerce in general, it’s difficult to move on a dime, it’s sort of like a battleship at sea, it’s tough to turn in a heartbeat.”
Kaiser said McDonald’s is still allowing people to use the ordering kiosks and take-out their food while encouraging everyone to move away from using cash.
“We’re encouraging people to use debit and credit and those kinds of things rather than cash so that the cash doesn’t have to go from one person to another.”
Pubs, bars, and restaurants like Fire Hall Kitchen & Tap and Boston Pizza were forced to close given the orders from Dr. Henry this week, while fast-food restaurants and other small businesses adjust to the take-out methods including Taco Time, Rocky’s Donair and others.
Check out Dave Kaiser’s full interview with Dennis Walker below: