Despite being permitted to open at 25 per cent capacity for indoor dining and 50 per cent on patios as vaccine uptake in Manitoba continues to climb, restaurants in Portage la Prairie continue to struggle to clear hurdles presented by the constant changes to public health restrictions.

Mr. Mike's Steakhouse Casual part owner Stan Killam first opened in early 2020 and since that time has operated at full capacity for just a handful of weeks. He notes that there are some provincial restrictions that he doesn't understand.

"The ordinance that they're pointing out this time was 25 per cent of a restaurant, while every restaurant out there did everything they possibly can to put plastic, and spent a fortune on plastic at the time. We put everybody six feet apart so that we could have 50 per cent. With 25 per cent capacity, that's 12 feet apart. It just doesn't make any sense. It was as though we didn't have to spend one cent on plastic.. so, that kind of upset me."

He says, on top of that, the common household is allowed ten people outside the home on your property. However, outside at his restaurant, he's only allowed eight.

"I don't understand that one," adds Killam. "So, those are about the only things I have an issue with it. The QR code (for proof of vaccine), that will be fine. The people are coming in with their cards they're showing us. We haven't had to use the app yet because people have just showed us the cards, and our patio has just been stacked and full, and you have to make a reservation because that's where you can sit with all your friends -- seven of your closest friends and yourself. At home, you can do nine. We've been busy."

Killam adds he'd like to see more people allowed inside for the time being.

"It's baby steps with the province with the opening, and hopefully we'll be able to tell you in maybe six weeks where you can come in here and I don't have to worry about it," says Killam. "Maybe we can all dance again, and turn the music up, because right now, we have to keep the music down, too."

Over at Tornado's Restaurant & Lounge, owner Jan Verwey has still yet to reopen her dining room or lounge as they simply don't have the necessary employees to staff the place. Verwey is continuing to offer pick up options for the time being, and notes the industry is far from out of the woods yet.

Tornado's Restaurant & Lounge.

"A lot of people think just being able to open the door, all you do is turn the key, turn on the open sign and people just come in," she says. "We've had three lockdowns and we lost three employees each time... there's nobody that's applying. We can't seem to find anybody. And even then, so we're allowed 25 per cent, that allows us four tables in the restaurant, four tables in the lounge, and you just can't make money, so we're allowed to be open but it's just not always good news."

Verwey is hopeful that Tornado's will return to its regular hours July 7, but will need a few additional staff to make that happen. Prior to the pandemic the business boasted a 25-person crew, and the current workforce is less than half that.

"There has to be a business that kind of suffers the most from a pandemic, and I guess restaurants and places that aren't essential will suffer the most. I understand that and I don't blame the government for the decisions that they made it. It's just not a good time to own a restaurant," says Verwey. "Get out and support local as much as you can, even if it's just for a quick bite to eat. It doesn't have to be $100 meal or anything. Just anything that you can. A gift card to give to somebody for their birthday. Anything that you can to support your local businesses, it goes a long way."