Good Afternoon All,
Oh behalf of your BIA Board of Directors and myself, we wanted to reach out with a few updates as follows:
1. The Premier has not asked that bars and restaurants in the province close at this time. I know that tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day and normally a very busy day for our bars and restaurants. It is up to each owner to decide how they feel it is best to proceed for their particular business. I do suggest that, whatever your decision, you post the information on your social media platforms and also please let us know and we will post on our BIA platforms. Below is a link covering the Premier's statements from earlier today.
2. Closures - at the moment the following BIA businesses are closed: The Danforth Music Hall, Joy of Dance Centre, and the Yoga Sanctuary. We are posting these closures on our social media and will post on our BIA website. Again, if you make the decision to close please let us know and we will be sure to post the information.
3. Changes in your operations - some of you are no longer accepting cash - payments can be made with debit, credit cards and gift cards; some of you are shortening your hours of operation or reducing the number of people allowed into your business at one time. Again please post these updates on your social media and let us know so we can also keep the public informed.
4. TABIA (Toronto Association of BIAs) will be meeting with the City tomorrow to discuss how the City can assist small business owners during this time. I have sent the second link listed below to TABIA and asked that they ensure that postponing the payment of property tax and water and waste bills is on tomorrow's agenda. I will be sure to keep you all informed of any updates that come from this meeting.
If you have any further questions or need further information please do not hesitate to email me and both myself and your Board of Directors will do our best to assist you.
Thanks,
Susan