Restaurants are getting set to open up at 50 percent capacity as phase 3 of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan starts June 8th.

One local favourite doing their part to open up is O’Hanlons Irish Pub, who was forced to close in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

General Manager Andrew Shanks says they’ll delay their opening in order to protect staff and customers.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of things we have to do to prepare for our reopening,” said Shanks. “A lot of things that are new, a lot of regulations and rules that we want to make sure we absolutely nail and abide by, in order to protect the safety of our patrons, and our staff alike.”

Shanks says O’Hanlons will be taking a slow, cautious approach by starting a soft re-open next Wednesday. This allows regular customers and family members to be invited into the bar so staff can practice serving food and drinks by following new protocols before fully opening to the public.

Part of what makes O’Hanlons popular is live entertainment, whether it be karaoke, trivia or live music. Shanks says entertainment like this won’t be allowed until Phase 4 of the Re-Open Saskatchewan plan.