Image: Ethel & Mary's Facebook.
With New Brunswick slowly returning to normal with each new phase on the path to green, Ethel & Mary’s owner Matthew Elliot is ready to “get some butts into seats” with a new sidewalk cafe opening on Princess Street just in time for summer.
The idea to open the sidewalk cafe, scheduled for June 23, partly comes from the success of the restaurant’s bubble bistro, where customers can book the entire space for their six- to 10-person bubble. They even get a menu tailored to their favourite foods.
Elliot said they’ve been pretty popular since they were introduced last year, with some parties booking their second or third bistro. He said those events will also continue even as the province moves to green, along with its picnic baskets that include bread and cheese and, more recently, beer and cider.
“We love doing it,” said Elliot. “The bubble bistros allow us to be creative so we can get a little bit fancier, but without becoming stodgy or uptight about anything — it’s still a casual experience.”
Elliot’s restaurant, which serves home-style cooking using locally sourced ingredients, opened three weeks before New Brunswick’s first lockdown in March 2020. While he’s offered takeout since then, Elliot said it cripples his potential revenue not to have customers dine-in.
“I’m really looking forward to getting seats back at the restaurant,” said Elliot. “Having some seats outside and then a couple of seats inside opens us up to be able to do maybe some more fun things in the evening.”
As the province starts lifting Covid-19 health restrictions, Elliot said it’s an exciting but daunting feeling since he only experienced three weeks of regular operations before the pandemic came to town. Being a new business at the time, he said even the first few weeks are hectic.
“We were super busy and then everything just shut right down,” he said. “We were trying to be creative and think of ways to keep the lights on, so seeing the green level come up around the horizon is very exciting.”
Still, Elliot said it’s going to be a big adjustment moving into a post-Covid world. As more New Brunswickers make their way out of their homes, he’s looking forward to a good summer with fewer restrictions — something he says most restaurants could really use.
“We want as many customers as we can get, especially now,” he said. “There’s a really strong push to get out and support your local restaurants and things like that. That’s sort of died down a little bit now, so it’s important to gently remind people that we still definitely need customers.”
With files from Cherise Letson.
Aaron Sousa is a summer intern for Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
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