‘We have to work together to shop local’: Survey says Collingwood businesses optimistic about next six months

A large majority of Collingwood business owners say they should survive through the next six months — but there is concern as a second wave of positive COVID-19 cases washes across Ontario.

That’s the assessment of a survey conducted late June and early July of more than 130 businesses, which found local business owners “cautiously optimistic.”

The town’s director of marketing and business development, Martin Rydlo, presented the numbers in his most recent update to Collingwood town council.

According to the survey, business owners in the downtown were more likely to be concerned about the future of their enterprises within the next six months than owners of businesses outside of the downtown. However, the overall number of business owners looking ahead six months with an optimistic outlook was 87 per cent.

Looking further out, to three years, the picture seemed bleaker. Only 51 per cent of business owners were optimistic about the future, compared to 69 per cent of business owners when the question was asked in 2018.

Rydlo said there is still some good news to be found in that number, “considering the gravity of the situation we’ve gone through over the last six months … (it is) still a significant number of businesses saying, ‘we’re looking to grow’.”

Even so, the survey determined, downtown businesses were more likely to state their rating of Collingwood as a place to invest, live and visit had increased over the past two years.

“We remain an excellent place to live,” Rydlo said.

Regularly disinfecting downtown areas — and making sure that was communicated to the public — was seen as a top priority for downtown businesses. Allowing restaurants in the downtown to extend their patios into parking spaces was also welcome, he said, and in some cases, businesses saw double-digit increases in revenue versus the previous year.

Rydlo said those same establishments are now considering how they will continue to operate once the inclement weather comes.

Mayor Brian Saunderson said the results were positive, but it was clear the town has more work to do.

“We have survived the first wave (of COVID-19) relatively strongly, (and) the town and the BIA, and our other stakeholders have been working together to support our local businesses in any way we can,” he told Simcoe.com. “Those supports have been effective and are helping, but the longer this crisis goes on, the harder it will be for our local businesses. We really have to work together as a community to shop local and support our local businesses every way we can.”

Saunderson said the idea of reconvening the economic recovery task force created at the onset of the pandemic has been discussed.

“There are some ideas that are percolating, and given the second wave is here, they are definitely engaged and have expressed an interest in meeting,” Saunderson said.

Two task force members — Brandon Houston and Kathie Ondercin — have recently been appointed to the Downtown Collingwood board of directors, “so I think they’re making their presence felt, not only as local business people and members of the task force, but also in other ways.”