As summer weather, combined with loosened pandemic restrictions, is drawing more and more Winnipeggers outdoors, some venues are drawing crowds again — socially distanced, of course.
The co-owner of a popular downtown spot along the banks of the Assiniboine River told 680 CJOB people are just itching to get outside and reconnect with each other.
“Everybody just misses connections with humans, so we’re doing our best,” said The Beer Can’s Jenna Khan of the beer garden, located outside the historic Granite Curling Club near the Manitoba Legislature.
“The Beer Can is a beer garden that is very community-oriented, very locally-oriented, and we’re there to build bridges with the community — to provide a safe place for people to hang out and kind of reconnect with family and friends.”
Khan said the kid and dog-friendly site, which also serves food from its built-in “Beer Cantina” and features live entertainment, was constructed as a family affair, with relatives and friends of the owners helping with the building process.
It has the added benefit of helping the curling club, a Winnipeg icon for more than a century.
“My two business partners are members of the Granite Curling Club so it was really important for them to find some sort of revenue stream for the club,” said Khan.
“(The club) has really been hurting over the past year because they haven’t been able to be open — no curling has been allowed.”
Although an increase in vaccinated Manitobans and greater adherence to provincial restriction means venues like The Beer Can have been able to welcome customers, the province is still encouraging people to remain vigilant in hopes of making the re-opening permanent.
That’s especially important in light of dangerous versions of the COVID-19 virus, like the Delta variant, arriving here.
“Getting vaccinated will help prevent severe illness from this variant,” Dr. Jazz Atwal, Manitoba’s deputy chief provincial public health officer, said Friday.
“Continuing to follow the fundamentals will help protect us even further.”
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