With May having arrived, it is time to head out to the lake for some rest and relaxation and some peace and quiet, for now it is a “guessing game” as to what to expect for businesses in the Moose Mountain Provincial Park and the Village of Kenosee Lake.
Provincial campgrounds are not open until June 1 and golf courses will open on May 15, which will greatly affect the traffic coming into the very popular resort area as well as the neighbouring communities that rely on the tourist season to make businesses cost effective.
The coming summer will be a difficult one for the proprietors in the area, having never experienced a pandemic and what to expect in making plans to operate under the situation they find themselves in.
It is definitely an “open and see” juncture in relation to what to expect and adjustment to the circumstances that will be presented in the coming weeks.
Stu Balfour, who operates the Bar Bar in the Village of Kenosee, says, “We don’t know if we will be operating at 50% capacity, so until we find out, there is no way to plan yet”. The Bar Bar will be subject to the release of Phase 3 of the Provincial Government regulations pertaining to on-sale customers for food and beverage establishments.
The Kenosee Superslides is also in a quandary at this point waiting for the okay from the Saskatchewan Government on its next move. Owner Jan Armstrong put it this way, “Until the provincial park opens, the slides will be closed. Everything is up in the air, we are in a world of maybes”.
Most businesses are open, or plan to open, in some capacity. The Mini Mart has extended their hours to accommodate the tourist season and Allison’s Store is open and operating with regular hours and will have the ice cream stand open as well.
The Moosehead opened for Mother’s Day and will operate on a takeout only menu for now.
