Monday April 27, 2020 ~ SOOKE
by Mary Brooke (with photos by Tom Myrick) ~ West Shore Voice News
It certainly is not ‘business as usual’ anywhere during the corona virus COVID-19 pandemic.
In Sooke the signs — literal and otherwise — of an economic shutdown are all around town, as people and businesses are required to follow the Public Health Officer’s orders about physical distancing, hygiene, and self-isolation.
While the large grocery stores (Western Foods and Village Foods) and the two drug stores (Shoppers and Pharmasave) are open – as well as the Castle Liquor Store which is going strong in pandemic times, many smaller shops and services are of course closed in response to various orders about physical distancing and self-isolation.
Restaurants are allowed to remain open for take-out only, and many have.
Drive-thru is popular, judging by the lineups of cars up to the take-out window at McDonalds.
In recent weeks the local Chamber of Commerce has been promoting a program to encourage the purchase of gift cards for value at local businesses, that can be used after the economy ramps back up again. That is a valiant and optimistic gesture to effectively put money into other people’s bank accounts, given the uncertainty of the pandemic on the overall economy in combination with Sooke’s poor track record of supporting the real success of local small business outside of certain tight sectors mostly related to tourism.
Photo Tour:
Meanwhile West Shore Voice News undertook a bit of a photo tour around Sooke on April 5 to see who was open, what was closed, and what the retail and walkable town landscape looked like.
On the door at the Tale of the Whale gift shop, was a hastily-noted message, both exasperated and hopeful: “Closed for Virus Scare” (with a few hearts).
The Sooke Bistro has a sign out front from pre-pandemic times, which seems oddly both appropriate and inappropriate: “Welcome to the Corona Extra Patio”.
The Hara Sushi Japanese Restaurant in the mall next to Serious Coffee and Village Foods has bright green neon poster boards with simple but effective messaging: ‘All Menu – Take Out Only – All Menu’.
Sooke Eyecare (Doctors of Optometry) has advisory signage on their front door. They are closed. “All Merchandise Has Been Removed from the Premises” is posted, and another note about being temporarily closed but available to emergencies and pickups of glasses and contact lenses. They are checking phone messages daily at 250-642-4311. “Thank you and stay safe.”
On the front door of Holy Trinity Church on Murray Road there is a simple paper sign written in marker and affixed with masking tape: “Due to COVID19 virus this church has decided for the next two weeks, Vital Vittles will only be take-outs. Thank you for your patience and understanding! Stay safe everyone!”
The Stick in the Mud — as one business example in particular — will probably manage just fine through the pandemic recession, because they have product to sell and a means to continue doing it. At their premises, perched on a chair behind a locked chain-link fence, a simple chalk scribbling on a blackboard says: Roses are red, Violets are blue, Buy our beans or we’re basically screwed!… for bean delivery call ….”. But if you get over to their website it also says: “The cafe is closed but we are delivering and shipping beans! Local orders please call 778-352-0077. Not local? Please order through this site. Thanks!”
At the Dollar Store, marked on the door, blue writing on black cardboard: “Social Distancing Efforts. Limit 5 customers at a time Please.” And a pre-COVID that in the new normal will be a given: “No shoes, shirt, service”
And on the door at Sooke Cycle on April 5 there was a note — first posted March 12, and then updated with ‘Closed Until Further Notice’, the long typed note by shop owner Lorien includes “Hopefully our society can come together and battle this virus effectively. The fact is, we can each make a difference.”
Even the public spaces such as parks are shut down due to Provincial Health Officer orders. The idea is to reinforce the idea of self-isolation and to minimize the need for enforcement of physical distancing. Playgrounds are also closed, to avoid too-close proximity between people.
The Sheringham Point Lighthouse out at Shirley has been closed during the pandemic. They are still hoping people will donate to the heritage lighthouse initiative on their website, as of course that tourism attraction will get up and running again whenever we get back to the ‘new normal’.
Celebrating the history of Sooke and keeping the community connected is now part of a trivia contest being hosted online on Thursday nights by the Sooke Region Museum on their Facebook page. Their next live trivia night event — with prizes — comes up April 30 at 7:30 pm.