Some Windsor restaurant owners stuck in Phase One of the COVID-19 recovery aren't willing to wait any longer.
Several regions have already moved into Stage Two; but Windsor remains in limbo due to the rise in cases in the agri-farm sector and its proximity to the U.S. border.
Twisted Apron owner Katie Robinson started a Facebook page urging decision makers to open Ontario by July 1. If the province refuses to bend, Robinson tells CTV Windsor some restaurants may defy COVID-19 closure orders in protest.
"I think we need all the small businesses to stand together and we need to open our doors. I think it's the only way to send a message. They aren't listening to our voices, they need to see our actions," added Robinson, who says her restaurant and many others have everything in place to open safely now.
She tells AM800's Dan MacDonald Show many business, including her own, are getting desperate.
"My sales for the month of May were down 98 per cent; that's with us offering take out four days a week," she says. "I have 36 employees still laid off and I'm truly not sure how long my doors will stay open."
Robinson says it's not about greed; it's about how far owners are willing to go into debt to stay open.
"My 40 employees that count on me for income ... It's about being a single mom and this is how I pay my bills at home," says Robinson. "If I lose this restaurant I'm not sure what my next step in life is and there aren't going to be a lot of jobs out there after this."
She says protests could also be an option for those unwilling to break provincial orders.
As of Friday night more than 600 people have followed the Open Ontario July 1 Facebook page.
— with files from CTV Windsor's Rich Garton.