Operators of Vancouver music venues say they can't survive capacity limits much longer
Operators of Vancouver music venues say B.C.'s COVID-19 restrictions are pushing their businesses to the brink of closure.
As of now, live music venues can only be half full, and people in attendance cannot dance and must remain seated.
For the owner of the Fox Cabaret, Darlene Rigo, this means her business can only allow 90 people inside at the moment, down from its regular capacity of 262.
"Were probably making about a quarter or a third of our usual revenues right now," Rigo said.
Rigo says the business relies heavily on the dance floor, and doesn’t have enough seating to even reach the 50 per cent capacity limit.
"We’re almost at the point where we would lose less money if we shuttered the business completely again," she said.
Rigo and other music venue owners, like Rickshaw Theatre owner Mo Tarmohamed. booked shows back in the spring, anticipating that capacity limits would be lifted by the fall. B.C. was initially scheduled to enter Step 4 of its reopening plan in early September, but opted not to do so because infections and hospitalizations remained unacceptably high.
While capacity restrictions were lifted for restaurants and gyms during earlier reopening phases, music venues have been left behind, and now they’re paying the price.
"I've had to cancel eight shows, and five of them were completely sold out at our original capacity," said Tarmohamed.
As of Oct. 24, British Columbians will be required to be fully vaccinated to enter restaurants, gyms, sporting events and concerts.
Rigo is holding out hope that this will prompt the province to finally lift the capacity and dance floor restrictions.
“If we can’t get back to generating the revenue we used to, we may not be able to stay in business, unfortunately,” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.