Two Okotoks businesses are prepared to welcome customers back through their doors as Stage 2 of Alberta’s relaunch strategy kicks off June 12.
Okotoks Cinemas is getting the stage set for movie-lovers to safely return to the theatre, while Cactus Club Salon and Spa is reworking its space to accommodate new restrictions for massage and esthetic services. Both businesses are gearing up to open June 19, the originally proposed date for Stage 2, due to the time it will take to arrange for personal protective equipment (PPE) and new protocols.
Amber Wigg, general manager of Okotoks Cinemas, said she can’t wait to see people return to the movies. The theatre closed its doors March 16 due to COVID-19.
“We miss everybody,” said Wigg. “We had a lot of regulars, and we definitely enjoyed seeing our regulars – we got to know a lot of them by name.
“Not having seen them for a long time, it will be nice to see them again.”
Movie theatres were included in Stage 2 of the Province’s relaunch strategy. The second phase also permits K-12 schools with specific guidelines; libraries; wellness and personal services like massage, acupuncture, skin and body treatments, tanning, manicures and pedicures; community halls; indoor recreation and fitness facilities; pools for leisure swimming; bingo halls and casinos; and instrumental concerts – all with restrictions.
In addition, the Province is now permitting indoor gatherings to a maximum of 50 people, or 100 if the audience is seated, and outdoor events to a maximum of 100, as well as releasing the cap on capacity in churches and restaurants as long as health measures are adhered to.
Wigg said Okotoks Cinemas has begun adjusting its space to accommodate physical distancing measures, with floor markers to help maintain space between customers, as well as the addition of a lobby usher to guide traffic flow.
“We noticed just when practising, it’s just not a huge establishment in the lobby, so just making sure people coming through are going the right way and not milling around uncomfortably near other people,” said Wigg.
Staff will wear masks behind the concession, because while workers are naturally distanced from customers by the counter, employees are working close to one another, she said.
Ticket sales will also be monitored. Customers will choose their seats at the counter, and staff will ensure nobody sits directly beside or in front of anyone else.
To begin, the theatre will be open weekends only until July, and the late show will be eliminated from the lineup to give employees time to thoroughly sanitize the theatre after each audience leaves, said Wigg.
“Usually we have quite a quick turn-around time on the weekends and we don’t have the ability to properly sanitize and also do a late show,” said Wigg. “So for now, we’re just going to do one evening show.”
There will likely be matinee shows on Saturdays and Sundays as well, she said.
No new releases will be available until July 1, so for the first two weekends of its operation, Okotoks Cinemas will be showing some of its most popular classics. The lineup hasn’t been determined yet.
“We are going to reach out to some of our customers on social media and ask them, but we’re looking at maybe just playing some family classics for the two weekends in June we’re open,” said Wigg.
At Cactus Club Salon and Spa, hairstyling services relaunched May 25 as part of Stage 1, but owner Mandy Patterson said she and the staff are excited to bring back the massage and esthetic services beginning June 19.
It will take time to catch up, she said.
“We have thousands of people on our waitlist that we had to cancel who have signed up for waitlists in the last few weeks,” said Patterson.
She said the logistics of scheduling clients is the biggest hurdle the spa faces. Estheticians and massage therapists are equipped with PPE like masks, face guards, gloves and Plexiglass barriers, but ensuring people are not in close contact while arriving at their appointments or paying for services is a little trickier.
While things may look different – like moving manicure tables into great rooms where clients may have relaxed together during appointments previously – Patterson said the goal is to make physical distancing within the space as smooth as possible so the spa experience is not impacted.
“People come to the spa for therapeutic reasons, but also a lot of the experience is to relax and to just be in a mental state of well-being, so we just want to make sure that we can handle that the best way possible,” she said.
Currently, the spa is waiting on government regulations around some personal services like facial waxing or facials, but Patterson said she’s confident Cactus Club will stand up to whatever guidelines the Province puts in place.
To-date, she said the salon has been above and beyond provincial regulations, and the spa has always practised high standards of hygiene and sterilization practices with its tools, implements, tables and tubs.
“I’m confident our initiatives will hold up to the regulations the government will put in place, it will just be nice to have that reassurance that we’re doing everything correctly,” said Patterson.
More than anything, she said the 45 staff members, which are like a big family, are excited to get back to working together and seeing their clients back in the spa.
“In our industry, where direct physical and emotional contact with others is so important, my employees are really missing that and are excited to not only see their family of fellow employees, but also their clients,” said Patterson.
Krista Conrad, OkotoksToday.ca
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