Hello dear Opiniconers, I hope you are all well and finding ways to keep comfortable in these unprecedented times.

While the Opinicon has been closed since mid-March, we have been looking at the trendlines and data and comparing them against how long we think we would need to ramp up to serviceability – deep cleaning 24 buildings, post-winter grounds maintenance, overgrown gardens, food deliveries, staff ramp up and training, etc etc etc. We usually start in early April for an expected busy season in June. Even if the projections showed that we could technically open our doors in July, we wouldn’t really be ready until late August, and unfortunately, baring significant changes to the variables, July is looking overly optimistic. It’s with this understanding that we are resigned to the fact that Opinicon’s high summer isn’t going to happen this year. With a heavy heart, we are extending our expected closure to August 31st, 2020.

Our sincere hope is that by taking these measures we’ll be protecting our staff, our guests, our community, and our ability to reopen when the dark clouds pass. We are hopeful that we can soundly pass through the storm and open for our event season in the Fall – trust me, the hardest thing to do is to cancel someone’s wedding, and we want to avoid that as best we can.

Our managers will be reaching out to guests with bookings between May 15th and August 30th over the next ten days. If you have a reservation with us this spring or summer please know we’ll get to you as soon as we can to discuss options.

The pandemic has hit the hospitality and tourism sector like a body blow. In the best of times, in economic boom times, restaurants are barely profitable. People in the hospitality sector work not for the profits, but for the joy it gives them to see people happy and full in body and spirit. The closures not only cut them off from a livelihood, but also their way of life. I fear that the majority of restaurants will not reopen.

If you have a restaurant in your city/town/neighbourhood that is finding a way to safely deliver food through these times, please consider supporting them.

This is not an easy letter to write, and I’m trying to find a way to insert hope and optimism… and lo, here it is: The decision to close is made because we are optimistic. We are optimistic that there is a positive way out of the crisis. We isolate because we love each other. We reach out virtually because humanity demands it. We find a way to hunker down in the storm because we know there will be sunlight. And in that sunlight, the doors of The Opinicon will reopen.

With love,

Fiona McKean
Owner, The Opinicon

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