East Gwillimbury businesses switch gears during the coronavirus pandemic

#futureofwork: Sign shops and restaurants think creatively to stay afloat

Yorkregion.com
May 27, 2020
Simon Martin

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the phones went dead at Total Sign Service in Holland Landing.

No businesses were thinking about their signs and displays.

“So we switched gears,” said director of operations Laura Sanders.

Starting March 25, the company focused on making Plexiglas barriers and hat face shields.

As you can imagine, both Plexiglas barriers and face shields have been in high demand during the pandemic. Total Sign Service has outfitted places like Nature’s Emporium with the Plexiglas barriers that are now commonplace at retail stores.

The baseball-cap face shield has also been in high demand, with lots of interest from construction companies and landscapers. “The general public is loving these,” Sanders said.

The company manufactured and designed the hat face shield. As businesses contemplate what offices will look like when people return to work, Sanders said, inter-office protection between workers is also becoming a burgeoning market. “Plexi-anything, really,” she said.

During normal times, Total Sign Service is more focused on interior and exterior building signs.

From the beginning, the company also decided to donate some of the proceeds from its sales to charity.

Total Sign Service is supporting Renascent (an addiction and rehab centre in Toronto), Inn from the Cold in Newmarket and Crosslands Community Meal. The community meal is a free dinner on Saturday nights in Newmarket. Multiple staff members from Total Signs volunteer there, and the organization is experiencing a lack of funding right now.

In the first round of donations, Total Sign Service donated $663 to each charity, intending to give further donations in the future.

Total Sign Service’s story is not unique. Businesses everywhere are trying to adjust to the new reality that COVID-19 has foisted upon them. Perhaps no industry has had to adjust more than the restaurant business. Just a few kilometres down the road, Guna Thiyagarajah, otherwise known as "Chef Gee," is trying to keep the lights on at Tatlows Broiler Bar. The popular local restaurant was actually closed for several weeks during the pandemic, but Thiyagarajah opened up for curbside pickup and local delivery in early May. “We couldn’t stay closed. We had to pay rent and all the bills,” he said.

Curbside pickup was a huge change for Tatlows, as the business was all dine-in before COVID-19. While many people turn to delivery apps like UberEats and Skip the Dishes during the pandemic for convenience, Thiyagarajah refuses to use them, as they charge a 30 per cent fee on the meal. Tatlows' staff does local delivery themselves, but Tatlows offers a 20 per cent discount on pickup and curbside pickup on dinner and 10 per cent on brunch.

While the government has offered a litany of relief programs, Thiyagarajah said no program is paying for the rent on the building. As for what the future of restaurants will look like when people might be allowed inside, Thiyagarajah said, maybe there's room for outdoor eating in front of his restaurant. So many things change in the restaurants when it's pickup only. For instance, Thiyagarajah said, he worries for his staff, who used to make good tips.

For now, Thiyagarajah is just looking toward the immediate future. He only buys groceries for two days in advance, not knowing what the future will bring. “It’s something,” he said.

For more information about Tatlows, visit tatlows.com.