B.C.’s bars, nightclubs face long road to reopening under COVID-19

B.C. is set to take the first steps towards its COVID-19 economic reboot next week, but it won’t include much of province’s nightlife.

Bars, clubs and most live music venues were shut down under a provincial health order in March, and will be among the last businesses to get the green light to reopen.

“Right now we just feel as an industry like we’re just twisting in the wind in a larger extent than anyone else. We’re the first closed, and we’re going to be the last to open,” said Nate Sabine with Celebrities Nightclub.

“It’s really kind of early days in a way because we know we’re so far out. We can’t socially distance the dance floor, so what do we do? As we get our ideas together, we’re kind of working with government and hopefully out of that, some sort of rolling timeline.”

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Businesses like Celebrities are included under Phase 4 of B.C.’s COVID-19 restart plan.

The province won’t reach that phase until there is either broad immunity to the virus, a vaccine or a widely-available and effective treatment.

East Vancouver’s Rio Theatre is another live entertainment venue feeling the pinch.

Management led a desperate — and ultimately successful — effort two years ago to buy the venue and protect it from redevelopment, only to shut down due to the pandemic.

While the theatre will be able to screen films under limited circumstances, profitable live music, theatre and burlesque events won’t be happening for the forseeable future.

“We can open for social distancing movies with only 50 people, but we certainly can’t really survive long term that way,” said owner Corinne Lea.

For its part, the province says it is sensitive to the pain the industry is going through, and is promising help.

But just what that help will look like remains unclear.