Restaurants and cafés in Flamborough have shuttered their doors or limited their services in response to a March 17 provincewide state of emergency designed to flatten the curve and stop the spread of coronavirus.

Jitterbug Café’s Lori Grundy and Tea at the White House co-owner Andrew May are among the shops that have limited their services to delivery only.

Prior to Premier Doug Ford making his state-of-emergency announcement, May said he was already working toward transitioning to delivery. Restaurants, bars and theatres are now ordered to close to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“Then we launched an online grocery service with Harrington Lane, Jitterbug’s providing coffee,” he said, adding that the service will deliver fresh fruit, produce, meat, coffee, tea, dairy products and more to customers in Waterdown, Burlington and Westdale on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The new road ahead is “scary,” said Grundy, who said she will take things day by day. “The unknown is very scary.”

While the Main Street North tea room and shop was prepared to close, the Tea at the White House owner is still worried about COVID-19 and members of his team, who have been temporarily laid off.

The layoffs, he said, “is just so they can apply for (employment insurance) or any other government programs that come available,” he said.

Other restaurants, like Mill Street & 5 American House, are doing what is necessary to keep patrons and staff safe. The pub closed its doors on the eve of the provincially-mandated restrictions affecting restaurants, bars and theatres.

It was a sad time, said one of the Mill Street & 5 owners, Drew Paget, adding: “We’re not capable of staying out just for takeout; we don’t do delivery.”

Salaried staff, said Paget, will still be paid with payroll going out on back-to-back weeks to hourly staff to make sure they are covered before they go on employment insurance.

With no kitchen service planned, the fridges at the local restaurant were cleared of perishable food items, among others, with staff invited to take those home and beef up their supply.

But they haven’t forgotten about those in need in the community. Paget explained that the staff donated to the Flamborough Food Bank, with another donation to come.

“We have about 10 bags of potatoes so we’ll make sure that gets to them,” he said

The shutdown has expedited the restaurant’s plans for a renovation, with Paget seizing the opportunity to fast tract some of the work they had planned to complete in the near future.

In Carlisle, the doors at Cascata Bistro are still open, but the restaurant, as mandated, is only fulfilling to takeout and delivery orders as part of its new Menu for Home program.

“The past 48 hours have been tumultuous for sure, but I don’t think that any of this comes as any surprise,” said owner Angela Checchia.

Since the Carlisle restaurant already offered takeout and delivery service, it was able to shift gears quickly.

Still, the COVID-19 landscape is changing rapidly. While the restaurant is “taking every precaution,” Checchia said, “We do know that any day now even that can change.”

The feeling of uncertainty is palpable among local restaurateurs, who wonder how long this will last. Most are prepared for at least two weeks but as the numbers of positive coronavirus cases rises in Hamilton — including a positive case confirmed in Waterdown — the province, the country and around the world, these small business owners are feeling on edge.

“I think it’s a confusing time for anyone,” said May.

And no one is immune from the impacts, said Grundy. “It’s everybody, every industry, everything is affected.”