What a switch back to the red zone means for Ottawa’s restaurant scene

With all indicators showing that Ottawa will be headed back into the red zone, restaurants are hoping for nicer weather so patio expansions can be made possible.

Under Ontario’s COVID-19 colour-coded framework, when the city’s in the red zone, restaurant capacities are limited to 10 people indoors — but there are no restrictions for outdoor dining.

So if the weather is good, restaurants would be able to open up their patios and serve more customers.

“They can get some business that way because they will stay open in the red zone with no sort of cap on the number of seats you can have out on there,” Sarah Chown, Ottawa chair of the Ontario Restaurant Hotel and Motel Association, said. “We’ll see limitations on the number of people and table sizes — but we’re really hoping the weather stays strong and people are able to get that.”

However, restaurants will have to stop serving alcohol at 9 p.m., and close their doors at 10 p.m.

According to Chown, because of the capacity limits on indoor dining in the red zone, the city’s largest restaurants will likely be the hardest hit.