Were not in this together: Outdoor patios shuttered, warned over public health restrictions – Toronto Star

Restaurant patios in Toronto are reeling from a recent enforcement blitz from public health officials.

What started out as a complaint about a blocked fire hydrant back in December turned into a myriad of inspections, notices to comply and notices of violation, co-owner of Cafe Diplomatico, Rocco Mastrangelo Jr. told the Star.

We were using our patio as a way to keep ourselves viable, open, paying our bills, and not laying off staff, he said.

On Jan. 14, Mastrangelo said he was given three different violations or orders to comply. One for the fire hydrant being obstructed, one for not having two sides of their patio open and a third for issues with their gas heaters, which were later fixed, according to Mastrangelo.

After a meeting on Thursday, the Cafe Diplomatico shut down its patio until it is able to fully reopen.

The health department, they want two sides (of the patio) open. Or if you have a retractable roof you have to have the roof open and one side open. Its minus 20 outside so basically its useless, said Mastrangelo.

He said the latest installation of heaters on their patio cost $80,000, which are now out of use due to the closure. The entire patio structure, he said, cost the restaurant over $200,000.

Mr. Ford, he says that were in it together. Were not in this together. Its only certain industries that had to take the brunt of this lockdown and restrictions. It seems like for whatever reason its always in the hospitality industry, he said.

St. Clair Wests Atomic10 is another restaurant among those affected. Earlier this month, the iconic Latin American restaurant was classified as being too enclosed by public health officials, co-owner Anna Canzona told the Star.

The officials asked the owners to either close the patio, or take down two full sides, which include Plexiglas panels as well as wooden barriers, according to Canzona.

We offered to remove the Plexiglas, but those wooden barriers are structurally integral to the patio, so they decided to shutter, Canzona said.

The official rules, according to the Reopening Ontario Act, are as follows:

If an outdoor dining area is covered, at least two sides of the area must be open to the outdoors and must not be substantially blocked by any walls or other impermeable physical barriers. And if it has a retractable roof, when its retracted, at least one side of the area must open to the outdoors and not be blocked.

But Canzona said they were not aware of the two-sides-fully open rule.

When they closed indoor dining, they said that patios would be allowed to operate. So we did continue to operate, not knowing that there were guidelines, Canzona said.

In response to questions by the Star, Toronto Public Health reiterated the outdoor dining rules outlined in the Reopening Ontario Act.

The City continues to work with businesses to educate them, help them understand the regulations and be in the compliance, said an emailed statement sent Sunday.

Staff from Toronto Public Health continue to respond to complaints and conduct inspections to ensure businesses are following the requirements under the ROA, including the patio requirements.

Matt Park, co-owner of Burdock Brewery, said that his restaurant was also visited by public health officials. Similar to Canzona, Park was told that lifting their rollable walls was not enough, and that their fences must also be removed.

Its a waist height fence, and that apparently isnt considered completely open even though the walls are completely up. Theres air blowing through and its still freezing, Park said.

The regulations say the two openings must not be substantially blocked by any walls or other impermeable physical barriers.

If you look at the definition of permeable, permeable is that gases and liquids could pass through it. Our fence has holes in it. Its not like a sealed airtight barrier.

Despite this, Burdock Brewery says it was given a letter from public health ordering them to comply, or they could risk fines.

Park said they have been in contact with their city councillor and public health, but it has been difficult to get clear answers on how they can keep the restaurant open to keep their staff employed and pay their bills.

By no means are we wanting to contravene public bylaws. We just want to know what they are, said Park.

This comes as the food and beverage industry in the province has already been through the mill in recent weeks, due to COVID-19 restrictions throttling capacities at eateries.

Although restrictions are set to ease on Jan. 31, restaurants are still uncertain about their future. Canzona is taking contingency steps, by getting two food trucks up and going.

We just dont know whats going to happen next. So were trying to prepare ourselves in case there is another lockdown, Canzona said.

Hopefully nothing changes from now until then.

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Were not in this together: Outdoor patios shuttered, warned over public health restrictions - Toronto Star