New Brunswick restaurateurs are anxiously awaiting the provincial government’s new rules and regulations for dining rooms and patios when it begins lifting its COVID-19 restrictions. “This pandemic is likely going to set us back a couple years,” said Mike Babineau the owner of RustiCo, Cora’s and Cannon’s Cross Pub in Fredericton.
Located two blocks from the Saint John River, RustiCo has one of the largest and busiest patios in Fredericton. Babineau said COVID-19 restrictions, however, will have a severe impact on the growth of his business. “We can probably still get about 50 per cent occupancy on our patio.
In the restaurant it’s likely going to drop to about 40 per cent,” said Babineau. Up the road at Claudine’s Eatery, the layout of the