Kingston-area spas say they can safely reopen despite phase 1 exclusion

We may only be a few days into the province’s re-opening plan, but already there are calls for some amendments.

The Kingston Accommodation Partners and area spas believe they too should be allowed to offer their services from an outdoor patio.

“Let’s look at other kinds of businesses that are able to utilize the patio space, like spas, so that they can maybe work off some of that debt that they’ve incurred over the last year and a bit,” Kingston Accommodation Partners Executive Director Kirsta Leclair said.

Cher-Mere Day Spa is one of those businesses that would love the opportunity to open their doors now.

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And they believe they could do so safely.

“Not only do we have our protocols that we follow generally, but we’ve gone above and beyond to make sure we have physical barriers and doing due diligence with contact tracing so that we can have our clients feeling safe,” Cher-Mere Day Spa owner Aba Mortley said.

They’ve actually built a patio at the back of their Brock Street location and plan to offer services from it whenever they’re able to.

“People really enjoy the option and the opportunity to be outside to do services like manicures and pedicures,” Mortley said. “So in addition to that, we’ve also put in additional features to make sure we have those safety procedures — there are sinks outdoors so that we have everything covered.”

1:49 Ontarians race to fill patios, shop in-store as province enters phase 1 of reopening

The Kingston Accommodation Partners are hoping that they can come to a resolution in order to allow more businesses to bring in a profit.

“For a lot of these businesses they’ve been closed for so long — they don’t want to put the public at risk but they want to be able to use the space that they have creatively to bring in some business,” Leclair said.

But for now, they’ll have to sit on the sidelines, hoping that their pleas to the province will be answered.